Retrieval of Ocean Surface Parameters from the Scanning Multifrequency Microwave Radiometer(SMMR) on the Nimbus-7 Satellite

Sea-surface temperature retrievals have been tested on 2 months of Nimbus-7 scanning multichannel microwave radiometer data. Using the prelaunch versions of the instrument calibration and geophysical parameter retrieval algorithms the initial results were poor. Improved algorithms produced substantially better results. It appears that at least for the night-Southern Hemisphere portion of the Nimbus-7 orbit, a rms measurement accuracy of 1.45°C has been achieved. Similar tests with wind speed retrievals yield an accuracy of 2.7 m/s rms with no substantial differences between day and night measurements but limited by availability of surface observations to the Northern Hemisphere. Moreover, it appears that the retrieved wind speed is more nearly related to the square of the wind observed at the surface than to the wind itself.