Ocean Surface Winds from Space - A Collaborative Education Effort

Ocean surface winds play a significant role in the global ocean-atmosphere system. Surface winds drive the worlds ocean currents, transport atmospheric heat and moisture, force nutrient rich upwelling areas, create surface waves and swell, and can reach destructive force in both extratropical and tropical cyclones. Although the oceans cover 70% of the Earth's surface, the network of ocean wind observations obtained from conventional buoys and ships is very sparse. The measurement of ocean surface winds using remote sensing technologies is the only means of obtaining wind information over large portions of the global ocean in a timely manner. The Ocean Surface Vector Winds Team (OSVWT) of the Satellite Oceanography and Climatology Division (SOCD) within the NOAA/NESDIS/Center for Satellite Applications and Research (StAR) has been producing satellite-derived ocean surface wind data since the mid 1990s. Wind products from several remotely sensed sources such as QuikSCAT and WindSat are available in near real time (NRT) on the Internet and are also distributed within NOAA. These wind products are used by operational forecasters, scientific researchers and the marine community. The researchers and forecasters from NOAA Ocean Prediction Center (OPC), the NESDIS StAR Ocean Winds Team and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) have partnered to increase awareness of the various ocean surface wind vector products available and to develop the educational materials needed to expose these products and to educate teachers at various levels about the latest technology for measuring and interpreting remotely sensed ocean vector winds. To accomplish this it has been proposed to host an educator workshop OPC. This workshop would target educators that train professional and future mariners in meteorology, oceanography and storm avoidance. Teachers from state maritime colleges, federal academies, and professional training institutions would be among those invited to participate. This workshop would be hosted by both researchers and forecasters and held within an operational forecast environment to promote hands-on experience. This paper will provide background information on current and new ocean surface wind remote sensing technologies, give examples of how products are used within the operational environment, and discuss the development of training material