Comparison are made between the Seasat-A satellite scatterometer (SASS) data and surface truth gathered from the Gulf of Alaska Seasat Experiments (GOASEX) and the Joint Air-Sea Interaction (JASIN) program. One comparison attempts to evaluate the performance of SASS irrespective of the algorithms employed to convert SASS data to geophysical parameters. This is accomplished by separating the backscatter measurements into small bins of incidence and azimuth angles and polarity and regressing against wind speed measurements. The algorithms themselves are tested by comparing their predicted slopes and y intercepts with those derived from the regressions. The algorithms are further tested by comparing each SASS backscatter measurement with the backscatter derived from the algorithms, given wind velocity from the observations. Results of the comparisions show that SASS becomes insensitive to winds at high incidence angles for horizontal polarizations. For other angles, fairly high correlations exist between backscattering coefficient. Failure to predict accurately at the extremes may be attributed to saturation of the sensor at these values. Another study shows that averaging the backscatter from two orthogonal beams produces a result which is essentially independent of wind direction and correlates well with the observed wind speed. Results also fail to favor any particular parameterization of the ''surface wind.''