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Anomalous wind estimates from the Seasat scatterometer

Nature volume 294, pages 735–737 (1981)Cite this article

Abstract

The Seasat-A Satellite Scatterometer(SASS) measured the radar backscatter intensity from the sea surface using a four-beam microwave antenna1–3. Estimates of wind speed and direction derived from these data agree well with surface measurements made during the Joint Air–Sea Interaction (JASIN) experiment4–6, but there are occasions (3 out of 23 satellite passes) when the results are anomalous. We have now studied one such occasion when the satellite measurements differed substantially from those at the surface of the sea and conclude that the interpretation of the SASS measurements may have been vitiated by a mid-level convective system deep enough to produce thunderstorms and lightning

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Oceanographic Sciences, Wormley, Godalming, Surrey, GU8 5UB, UK

    T. H. Guymer

  2. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA

    J. A. Businger

  3. NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, 23665, USA

    W. L. Jones

  4. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, california, 91103, USA

    R. H. Stewart

Authors
  1. T. H. Guymer
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  2. J. A. Businger
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  3. W. L. Jones
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  4. R. H. Stewart
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Guymer, T., Businger, J., Jones, W. et al. Anomalous wind estimates from the Seasat scatterometer. Nature 294, 735–737 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/294735a0

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