Validation of High Ocean Surface Winds from Satellites Using Oil Platform Anemometers

Abstract

AbstractReliable sources for validating wind observations made by spaceborne microwave radiometer and scatterometer sensors above 15 m s?1 are scarce. Anemometers mounted on oil platforms provide usable wind speed measurements that can help fill this gap. In our study we compare wind speed observations from six microwave satellites (WindSat, AMSR-E, AMSR2, SMAP, QuikSCAT, and ASCAT) with wind speed records from 10 oil platform anemometers in the North and Norwegian Seas that were provided by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. We study various forms of the vertical wind profile, which is required to convert anemometer winds to a reference height of 10 m above sea level. We create and analyze matchups between satellite and anemometer winds and find good agreement up to wind speeds of 30 m s?1 within the margin of errors. We also evaluate wind speeds from several analyses [ECMWF, NCEP, and Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP)]. We find them to be significantly lower than the anemometer winds with their biases increasing systematically with increasing wind speed. Important components of our analysis include a detailed discussion on the quality control of the anemometer winds and a quantitative analysis of the uncertainties in creating the matchups.