A radar imaging model including a Doppler shift module is presented for quantitative studies of radar observations of wave-current interaction in a strong tidal current regime. The model partitions the Doppler shift into the relative contribution arising from the motion of the backscattering facets including Bragg waves, specular points, and breaking waves that are advected by and interact with the underlying surface current. Simulated and observed normalized radar cross sections and Doppler shifts for different environmental conditions and radar parameters are compared and discussed. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.