Identification of Possible Wave Damping by Rain Using TOPEX and TMR Data

A global picture of wave damping by rain (WDBR), a phenomenon familiar to seafarers for centuries, has been so far unavailable owing to the fact that neither rules nor tools exist for its systematic measurement. The situation has changed following the launch of the first dual-frequency (5.3 GHz and 13.6 GHz) radar altimeter TOPEX, along with the three-frequency (18 GHz, 21 GHz, and 37 GHz) radiometer TMR (TOPEX Microwave Radiometer). In this study, a scheme for detecting possible WDBR using TOPEX/TMR data is proposed. The geographical distribution of identified WDBR is consistent with the simultaneous presence of high sea state and intensive rainfall. Frequent occurrences of WDBR are observed in the midlatitude of the two hemispheres, particularly in the Pacific Ocean. In contrast, WDBR rarely occurs in the majority of the tropical and subtropical oceans. The global seasonality of WDBR is found to be weak as a result of the hemispheric phase opposition of sea state and rainfall in their annual variations. Knowledge of spatial distribution and temporal variation of WDBR is useful in dealing with potential systematic biases in satellite wind and wave measurements due to rain/sea interaction. It would have been interesting to compare the WDBR with coincident estimates of global rainfall from the SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave/Imager).