Wind and pressure Fields Near Tropical Cyclone Oliver Derived From Scatterometer Observations

The results of this study demonstrate that the surface wind velocity and pressure fields derived from spaceborne scatterometers are useful in monitoring the location and intensity of tropical cyclones. Satellite-borne microwave scatterometers can penetrate the cloudy core regions of tropical cyclones to resolve the circulation in detail over data sparse regions. The location of the cyclone observed by the ERS-1 scatterometer is very close to that revealed in Geostationary Meteorological Satellite images. The surface winds provided by the ERS-1 scatterometer are used here with a modified two-layer planetary boundary layer model which includes effects of curvature, stability, and secondary flow to derive surface pressures near tropical cyclone Oliver. The curvature effect is found to be more significant than stability and secondary flow, which are crucial in deriving accurate surface pressure fields in midlatitudes.