Abstract
The currently available satellite methods for obtaining wind information over oceans are discussed with respect to the time and spatial coverages of each method and its accuracy. At the present, cloud motion data is being taken for most of the world’s tropical and mid-latitude oceans. This record extends back to 1975 for the western hemisphere. Full coverage of all oceans started in 1979. Wind information can be obtained from passive microwave sensors (thermally emitted microwaves) for all oceans from 1978 to the present. Radar altimeters and scatterometers also provide wind data.
The future outlook is for continued cloud motion coverage. The current passive microwave sensor may terminate before its successor is launched in 1985. A radar altimeter is scheduled for launch in 1984 and two scatterometers for 1989.
Only two methods provide wind direction information, the cloud motions and scatterometers. To correct for this deficiency, along with other deficiencies in coverage, a combined analysis using all available data is suggested.
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© 1984 D. Reidel Publishing Company
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Wylie, D., Hinton, B. (1984). A Summary of the Wind Data Available from Satellites from the Past History to Future Sensors. In: Gautier, C., Fieux, M. (eds) Large-Scale Oceanographic Experiments and Satellites. NATO ASI Series, vol 128. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6421-1_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6421-1_10
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