Ocean surface wind remote sensing using microwave backscatter and brightness temperatures

This paper illustrates an improved geophysical model function (GMF) for Ku-band ocean backscatter at high winds and a preliminary geophysical model function for polarimetric brightness temperatures acquired from aircraft measurements. The implications of the geophysical model function for ocean wind velocity measurements are assessed through the analysis of NSCAT data and the simulation of satellite wind radiometer performance. The improved GMF for NSCAT appears to provide a significant better estimate of hurricane force winds than the NSCAT-1 GMF. Performance estimates for passive microwave radiometers suggest comparable accuracies of active and passive techniques from mid through high winds. Active scatterometers appear to offer a better wind direction accuracy at low winds, while passive radiometers provide a better ambiguity selection skill.