When wind is blowing, the open water areas appears bright in SAR images, whereas
they are dark in calm weather. An approximate of the backscatter as function
of wind speed and angle of incidence can be found by using the CMOD-4 model
[ESA, 1993]. This is shown in figure 
.
Figure: Backscatter from open water as function of wind speed and angle of incidence
They are often homogeneous without any texture of significance. In the presence
of ocean currents or local wind differences in an area, patterns can be formed
in the image. An example of wind blown open water is shown in figure .
Figure: Open water on January 15 1993
Tim Flintholm Fink<tff@emi.dtu.dk>