A Cross-calibrated, Multiplatform Ocean Surface Wind Velocity Product for Meteorological and Oceanographic Applications

TLDR

The ocean surface wind mediates exchanges between the ocean and the atmosphere, and these air–sea exchange processes are critical for understanding and predicting atmosphere, ocean, and wave phenomena on many time and space scales. The paper aims to describe the methodology for assimilating input data and validating the derived CCMP products. The authors use a variational analysis method to merge cross‑calibrated satellite and in‑situ wind data from SSM/I, TMI, AMSR‑E, SeaWinds on QuikSCAT and ADEOS‑2 with ECMWF reanalyses, producing a near‑global 25‑km, 6‑hourly wind field from 1987 to 2008. The resulting CCMP data set is publicly available via the JPL PO.DAAC. A supplementary article is available online at DOI 10.1175/2010BAMS2946.2.

Abstract

The ocean surface wind mediates exchanges between the ocean and the atmosphere. These air–sea exchange processes are critical for understanding and predicting atmosphere, ocean, and wave phenomena on many time and space scales. A cross-calibrated multiplatform (CCMP) long-term data record of satellite ocean surface winds is available from 1987 to 2008 with planned extensions through 2012. A variational analysis method (VAM) is used to combine surface wind data derived from conventional and in situ sources and multiple satellites into a consistent nearglobal analysis at 25-km resolution, every 6 h. The input data are cross-calibrated wind speeds derived from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I; F08–F15), the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Microwave Imager (TMI), and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E), and wind vectors from SeaWinds on the NASA Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) and on the second Japanese Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS- 2; i.e., the Midori-2 satellite). These are combined with ECMWF reanalyses and operational analyses by the VAM. VAM analyses and derived data are currently available for interested investigators through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC). This paper describes the methodology used to assimilate the input data along with the validation and evaluation of the derived CCMP products. A supplement to this article is available online: DOI: 10.1175/2010BAMS2946.2