Validation of NOAA's Near Real-Time Ascat Ocean Vector Winds

The ASCAT, launched on board MetOp-A satellite on October 19^th 2006, is a C-band scatterometer operating at 5.255 GHz using fan-beam antennae to measure near surface vector wind over the world's ocean. NOAA produces near-real-time ASCAT wind product at 50 and 25 km resolutions. These wind data are validated against global wind field model and satellite observation from QuikSCAT. The results show ASCAT wind speed retrievals perform well for low to moderate wind speed under most weather conditions, but are underestimated for wind speeds ¿ 15 m/s. The standard deviation wind direction errors are well below 20 degrees for wind speed ¿ 5 m/s.