1. What are the truly important and challenging science questions for your discipline that benefit from access to SAR data? 1.How does the ocean surface behave on a global, long-term scale and how does it drive the climate? 2. How can we better predict hazards at sea? 3.What is the nature of physical processes in coastal, frontal, and marginal ice zones and how do they affect biological processes? Oceanography

2. 1.How does the ocean surface behave on a global, long-term scale and how does it drive the climate? How is energy distributed globally among ageostrophic currents of different scales? Assimilation of this information can improve ocean circulation models. What is the spatial and temporal variability of directional wave spectra? How do these affect wind vectors? How do they modulate short waves and enhance or inhibit air/sea transfer? Can we observe wave groups and explain them with nonlinear wave theories? How do these processes give rise to breaking waves? What influence do these have on air/sea transfer? How do surfactants affect air/sea exchange?

4. 2.How can we better predict hazards at sea? What is the morphology of hurricanes? What currents do hurricanes generate? What is the size and shape of the eye? What is its location? What is the spatial distribution of waves in the eye wall region? What triggers the eye wall replacement cycles? What are wind speeds at landfall? How common are extreme waves? What is their global distribution? How can we improve the prediction of severe coastal winds? Can we improve the accuracy of high wind measurements? Can we detect, track, and predict the future course of oil spills and natural slicks?

5. Hurricane Floyd over the Bahamas

6. Hazardous Coastal Winds Gap Winds Coastal Barrier Jets

7. 3. What is the nature of physical processes in coastal, frontal, and marginal ice zones and how do they affect biological processes? How are harmful algal species and pollutants transported by currents associated with these zones? How do mixed layer depth and upwelling of nutrient-rich water influence the growth of algae? What are the currents associated with oceanic fronts? With coastal bathymetry? How do these influence beach erosion? What improvements can be made in models by using high resolution winds in coastal areas and marginal ice zones? How are internal waves dynamics correlated with primary productivity? Can we assess the anthropogenic impact on the coastal zone by measuring the fresh water flux?

8. Coastal Upwelling and Associated Biological Activity RADARSAT-1 Standard SAR frame and near-coincident AVHRR SST showing upwelling conditions off New Jersey, the Hudson River Estuary, and Long Island on 30 July 1998.

10. System Requirements 1.Oceanographic measurements require long-term, global observation over the ocean, significantly increasing on-time and data storage. 2. Many applications require near real time access to the data. 3. Single-pass, along track interferometric (ATI) SAR is absolutely essential for improvements in ocean studies. 4. The ATI SAR should have the capability of squinting fore and aft for single-pass current vector calculation. This also allows wind direction to be determined. 5. Oceanographic measurements require a low noise-equivalent cross section and large dynamic range that is not changed from land to ocean. 6. Radiometric calibration is essential for retrieving ocean winds from InSAR. 7. L and C-bands are most desirable for wind speed response and for minimizing response to rainfall.