Cross Comparison of ALOS PALSAR L-Band Retrieval Model Functions

We make a systematic comparison of wind speed computed from the advanced land observing system (ALOS) phased array type L-band synthetic aperture radar (PALSAR) against wind speed analyses from an operational weather model. The standard deviation of the residual difference is very similar to results from C-band synthetic aperture radars (SARs) on Radarsat-2 and Envisat when compared against models, albeit with a systematic and easily removed bias. Results are limited to HH-polarization data. There is little available VV-polarization data over water.