Abstract
We have constructed gridded high resolution global surface wind products from satellite scatterometer Qscat/ SeaWinds (QSW) and radiometer Aqua/AMSR-E. Intercomparison of the two products in the North Pacific reveal significant difference ; the AMSR-E winds are weaker than the QSW winds with a maximum difference of 0.5 to 0.6 m s-1 in the western portion of the westerly region during the winter season. These products are validated by comparing them with moored buoy measurements ; the Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO) buoy in the Kuroshio Extension (KE) and the Tropical Atmosphere and Ocean (TAO) buoys in the tropical Pacific regions. Comparisons reveal that there are little differences between satellite-derived and in-situ wind speeds, while the QSW product has a smaller root-mean-square difference (RMSD) from and a higher correlation with in-situ wind speeds, indicating higher reliability. Spatial correlations between surface wind speed and sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly fields by TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) reveal a significant positive correlation between wind-speed and SST anomaly in the KE region, suggesting an ocean-atmosphere interaction that may have some dependency on oceanic conditions, such as the existence of warm eddies.
