This paper compares simultaneous microwave radar and video camera signals from shallow water breaking waves. The results show that the radar cross section (RCS) is well correlated with the size of the turbulent breaking region estimated from the video camera. This indicates that microwave radar is a good breaking wave detector and can be used for the measurement of the spatial and temporal variations of wave breaking. In addition, microwave radar offers the advantage of not being sensitive to relict foam generated in the breaking process. Finally, the RCS per unit area of the turbulent breaking region appears to be well approximated by a constant value of -2 dB (+- 0.5 d.B).
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