Mesoscale Ocean Feature Identification
Mesoscale ocean features may be imaged by characteristic patterns of natural surfactants or due to surface roughness modulation related to wind-current interaction at the current shear or convergence zones. Bathymetric features can be detected by local changes in the surface roughness pattern related to the underwater topography.

RADARSAT beam mode - Mesoscale features can be imaged using any of the RADARSAT modes. The choice of beam mode is dependent on the size of the target feature, and if the feature location is known.

RADARSAT incidence angle - Smaller incidence angles are optimum for feature detection. Detection is strongly dependent on wind speeds.

Look direction - Choose a look direction that will image the area of interest in the near half of the swath so as to avoid image quality problems.

When to acquire RADARSAT data - Data can be acquired whenever desired and are generally acquired as part of ocean experiments. Many ocean features (e.g., currents) have seasonal variations and this should be considered when ordering data.