Evaluation of SEASAT SMMR wind speed measurements

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Abstract
The SEASAT scanning multichannel microwave radiometer (SMMR) is able to measure the wind speed at the ocean surface through the change in ocean surface microwave emissivity caused by the wind. In this paper we compare the SMMR‐derived wind speeds to the wind speeds derived from an active microwave scatterometer also aboard the SEASAT, the SEASAT A scanning scatterometer (SASS), Four orbits that passed over the severe storm that damaged the Queen Elizabeth II are examined in detail. These orbits and five others were used to investigate effects which degrade the SMMR wind retrievals. When the data are filtered for such effects, we find that the SMMR winds agree with the SASS winds with a scatter (1σ) of less than 2 m/s about a bias of 1 to 2 m/s.