Evaluation of wind vectors observed by QuikSCAT/SeaWinds using ocean buoy data

Ebuchi, Naoto

doi:10.1109/igarss.2001.976753

Cited by 65 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The cold front was also observed by the Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT; Ebuchi et al 2002;Leslie et al 2008) and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM; Simpson et al 1996) Microwave Imager (TMI; Kummerow et al 1998) …”

Section: Episode Overviewmentioning

confidence: 96%

Effect of the Andes Cordillera on Precipitation from a Midlatitude Cold Front

Barrett

Garreaud

Falvey

2009

Monthly Weather Review

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The effects of the Andes Cordillera, the major mountain range in South America, on precipitation patterns of baroclinic systems approaching from the southeast Pacific remain largely unstudied. This study focuses on a case in late May 2008 when an upper-level trough and surface cold front produced widespread precipitation in central Chile. The primary goal was to analyze the physical mechanisms responsible for the structure and evolution of the precipitation.Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulations indicate that as an upper-level trough approached central Chile, midtropospheric flow below 700 hPa was blocked by the high topography and deflected poleward in the form of a barrier jet. This northerly jet had wind maxima in excess of 15 m s 21 , was centered around 925 hPa, and extended westward 200 km from the mountains. It intersected the cold front, which approached from the south near the coast, thereby increasing convergence along the frontal surface, slowing its equatorward progress, and enhancing rainfall over central Chile. Another separate region of heavy precipitation formed over the upwind slopes of the cordillera. A trajectory analysis confirmed that the barrier jet moved low-level parcels from their origin in the moist southeast Pacific boundary layer to the coast. When model topography was reduced to twenty percent of its original height, the cold front advanced more rapidly to the northeast, generated less precipitation in central Chile between 338 and 368S, and produced minimal orographic precipitation on the upwind Andean slopes. Based on these findings, the high topography appears responsible for not only orographic precipitation but also for substantially increasing precipitation totals over the central coast and valley.

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Section: Episode Overviewmentioning

confidence: 96%

Effect of the Andes Cordillera on Precipitation from a Midlatitude Cold Front

Barrett

Garreaud

Falvey

2009

Monthly Weather Review

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“…Buoys report hourly, and are considered to be more reliable for validation of numerical model and remotely sensed data (e.g. Gower, 1996;Ebuchi et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methods to homogenize wind speeds from ships and buoys

Thomas¹,

Kent

Swail³

2005

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Marine winds reported by Voluntary Observing Ships (VOS) and moored buoys require adjustment to provide a homogeneous record of the marine climate. Known sources of inhomogeneity arise from differences in measurement height and method, averaging method and atmospheric stability; methods are available to correct for these. However, significant differences remain in a paired dataset of ship and buoy winds. Regression methods to remove this remaining inconsistency are discussed, and a ranked regression method chosen as most appropriate to adjust ship wind speeds to yield a similar distribution. We show the factors, such as vessel type, that affect the regression results. The corrections, derived from a high-quality paired dataset with rigorous quality control, are effective at reducing inhomogeneity in monthly mean wind speed distributions derived from the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set.

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“…These wide-range wind data in combination with refined ocean models are used in numerical weather predictions and describe the oceanographic features more accurately (1)(2)(3). Buoys scattered over the ocean also measure fine-time resolution in situ surface winds and are used in validating remote-sensing measurements and are assimilated into model analyses (4,5). However, because wind data are only acquired twice per day by each satellite and buoys have limited spatial coverage, finer-scale changes of hours to days in local wind conditions could be overlooked.…”

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confidence: 99%

Flight paths of seabirds soaring over the ocean surface enable measurement of fine-scale wind speed and direction

Yonehara

Goto

Yoda

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Ocean surface winds are an essential factor in understanding the physical interactions between the atmosphere and the ocean. Surface winds measured by satellite scatterometers and buoys cover most of the global ocean; however, there are still spatial and temporal gaps and finer-scale variations of wind that may be overlooked, particularly in coastal areas. Here, we show that flight paths of soaring seabirds can be used to estimate fine-scale (every 5 min, ∼5 km) ocean surface winds. Fine-scale global positioning system (GPS) positional data revealed that soaring seabirds flew tortuously and ground speed fluctuated presumably due to tail winds and head winds. Taking advantage of the ground speed difference in relation to flight direction, we reliably estimated wind speed and direction experienced by the birds. These birdbased wind velocities were significantly correlated with wind velocities estimated by satellite-borne scatterometers. Furthermore, extensive travel distances and flight duration of the seabirds enabled a wide range of high-resolution wind observations, especially in coastal areas. Our study suggests that seabirds provide a platform from which to measure ocean surface winds, potentially complementing conventional wind measurements by covering spatial and temporal measurement gaps.biologging | dynamic soaring | satellite scatterometer | GPS | meteorology R ecently, remote-sensing systems used to record atmospheric circulation have been developed. Satellite-borne scatterometers estimate ocean surface wind velocities each day covering the majority of the global ocean. These wide-range wind data in combination with refined ocean models are used in numerical weather predictions and describe the oceanographic features more accurately (1-3). Buoys scattered over the ocean also measure fine-time resolution in situ surface winds and are used in validating remote-sensing measurements and are assimilated into model analyses (4, 5). However, because wind data are only acquired twice per day by each satellite and buoys have limited spatial coverage, finer-scale changes of hours to days in local wind conditions could be overlooked. In addition, in coastal areas, where high biological productivity is associated with ocean and atmosphere circulation patterns (6), wind data are lacking due to variations in wind and wave caused by complex topographic effects that satellites have difficulty measuring (5,7,8). Obtaining in situ high-resolution atmospheric and oceanographic data to fill these spatial and temporal observation gaps would deepen our understanding of physical processes relevant to interactions between the atmosphere and ocean, contribute to improved atmospheric and ocean model analyses (7,8), and reveal detailed structure that remains unresolved by using conventional methods (9).The recent development of miniaturized animal-borne data loggers presented a capability to use animals as indicators of environmental variables. The extensive movement range and locomotion ability of marine mammals and seabirds ena...

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Evaluation of wind vectors observed by QuikSCAT/SeaWinds using ocean buoy data

Cited by 65 publications

References 19 publications

Effect of the Andes Cordillera on Precipitation from a Midlatitude Cold Front

Effect of the Andes Cordillera on Precipitation from a Midlatitude Cold Front

Methods to homogenize wind speeds from ships and buoys

Flight paths of seabirds soaring over the ocean surface enable measurement of fine-scale wind speed and direction

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