Altimeter Wind and Wind-Stress Algorithms—Further Refinement and Validation

Abstract

An altimeter wind algorithm that was proposed earlier and deduced on the basis of microwave specular reflections from the sea surface is discussed. This algorithm is further tuned overall with buoy-measured winds; it is refined at low winds (<2.4 m s?1) in accordance with the surface-layer characteristics and scatterometer winds, and validated at high winds (>9.6 m s?1) with tower and airborne observations. Recent efforts comparing various altimeter wind algorithms are aim discussed.