Earlier investigations have shown that a power law relationship of the typeσ=aW^b exists between the scattering coefficientσ and sea surface wind speedW at microwave frequencies. The coefficientsa andb are usually quoted for different frequencies, look angles, polarizations etc. This paper attempts to define the angular dependence using such a power law relationship in the quasi-specular range.

A method is presented for the retrieval of classification parameters of clouds observed by satellite-borne imaging systems. It is based on a two-dimensional fast Fourier transform of cloud images and an analysis of their power spectra. The parameters retrieved provide quantitative information on mean brightness, size, shape and directional properties of clouds. The efficacy of the subdivision of the original cloud image into smaller regions and the determination of individual parameters is demonstrated by applying this procedure to some NOAA and INSAT cloud images.