The effects of the variation in sea surface temperature and atmospheric stability the estimation of average wind speed by SESAT-SASS.

Abstract

Wind speeds from the scatterometer (SASS) on the ocean observing satellite SESAT averaged over 2 DEGREE latitude by 2 DEGREE longitude and a 92 day period are compared with wind speeds from the reports in the western North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific, where the concentration of ship reports are high and the ranges of atmospheric stability and sea surface temperature are large. The comparison results are consistent for each region and for the combined data. Scatterometer winds are found to be generally higher than ship winds. The systematic dependences of the difference between scatterometer winds and ship winds on sea surface temperature and atmospheric stability are identified. The quality of ship reports is not ideal but should not depend on atmospheric stability or sea surface temperature. The systematic dependences, therefore, may reflect the characteristics of scatterometer winds. (from author's abstract)