Wind fields from scatterometer, altimeter and special sensor microwave/imager

Ocean surface wind is routinely acquired at the Institut Francais de Recherche pour l´Exploitation de la MER (IFREMER) from three wind microwave sensors: the ERS-1 scatterometer (Scatt), the ERS-1 altimeter (Alt), and the seven-frequency microwave radiometer (SSM/I). The accuracy of the wind inferred from the three sensors is determined by comparison with moored-buoy wind measurements, deployed in the Pacific Ocean during the first year of ERS-1 life. The in-situ comparisons show an agreement to better than 2 m/s in terms of wind speed. Analysis of differences between buoy and satellite wind estimates are made according to geophysical variables such as wind speed, sea state, air and sea temperatures and atmospheric water vapor content and show the impact of these variables on the bias and the rms values of the remotely sensor wind estimates