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Validation of Special Sensor Microwave Imager monthly-mean wind speed from July 1987 to December 1989Since July 1987, the Remote Sensing Systems (Santa Rosa, California) routinely computes from first principles the wind speed from Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) measurements of the intensity of microwave radiation emitted at the ocean surface. The accuracy of monthly-mean SSM/I wind speeds is determined by comparisons with moored-buoy wind measurements, which were recorded by four different institutions at 44 sites in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans during July 1987 to December 1989. All results for 1988 were virtually identical with 1989. The range of monthly mean moored-buoy wind speeds was 2-10 m/s. The rms difference of 697 monthly-mean matchups of the composite 1988 and 1989 data set was 1.2 m/s. The rms differences were smaller in the equatorial zone and higher in middle latitudes, in accord with the monthly standard deviation. At middle latitudes, the time series of rms differences displayed an annual cycle. In the equatorial zone, the agreement between SSM/I and in situ data was better in regions with a lesser amount of clouds, and vice versa. For SSM/I monthly standard deviations of 1-2, 2-3, and 3-4 m/s, the average absolute values of the monthly-mean difference between SSM/I and moored-buoy wind speeds were 0.6, 0.9, and 1.4 m/s, respectively.
Document ID
19930068218
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Halpern, David
(JPL Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
May 1, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing
Volume: 31
Issue: 3
ISSN: 0196-2892
Subject Category
Instrumentation And Photography
Accession Number
93A52215
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 578-22-26-40
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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