Impact of Satellite Winds on Marine Wind Simulations

Abstract

A variational data assimilation method is applied to remotely sensed wind data from Hurricanes Gustav (2002) and Isabel (2003) to produce enhanced marine wind estimates. The variational method utilizes constraints to ensure that an optimum combination of winds is determined, in the sense of minimization of a cost function measuring the misfit between observations and background input field data and constraining nongeophysical features in the spatial derivatives. Constraints are multiplied by weights, which are objectively determined by cross validation. Verification is obtained by comparison with available operational in situ buoy observations and analyses winds. It is shown that the newly constructed midlatitude wind fields represent an improvement relative to background wind field estimates and also relative to Quick Scatterometer?National Centers for Environmental Prediction reanalysis blended winds, and that the new winds have an impact on simulations of waves and upper-ocean currents.