QuikSCAT Satellite Comparisons with Nearshore Buoy Wind Data off the U.S. West Coast
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Authors
Pickett, Mark H.
Tang, Wenging
Rosenfeld, Leslie K.
Wash, Carlyle H.
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2003-12
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Abstract
To determine the accuracy of nearshore winds from the QuikSCAT satellite, winds from three satellite datasets
(scientifically processed swath, gridded near-real-time, and gridded science datasets) were compared to those
from 12 nearshore and 3 offshore U.S. West Coast buoys. Satellite observations from August 1999 to December
2000 that were within 25 km and 30 min of each buoy were used. Comparisons showed that satellite–buoy wind
differences near shore were larger than those offshore. Editing the satellite data by discarding observations
recorded in rain and those recorded in light winds improved the accuracy of all three datasets. After removing
rain-flagged data and wind speeds less than 3 m s21, root-mean-squared differences (satellite minus buoy) for
swath data, the best of the three datasets, were 1.4 m s21 and 378 based on 5741 nearshore comparisons. By
removing winds less than 6 m s21, these differences were reduced to 1.3 m s21 and 268. At the three offshore
buoys, the root-mean-squared differences for the swath data, with both rain and winds less than 6 m s21 removed,
were 1.0 m s21 and 158 based on 1920 comparisons. Although the satellite’s scientifically processed swath data
near shore do not match buoy observations as closely as those offshore, they are sufficiently accurate for many
coastal studies.
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Article
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Oceanography
Meteorology
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Citation
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, Vol. 20, December 2003, pp. 1869-1879
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This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.