Remote sensing activities at the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) are usually related to earth orbiting satellites; however, we also make some use of weather radar observations. The instruments that we do the most work with are scatterometers, which estimate near surface wind speed and direction, as well as surface stress. We also work with a wide variety of instruments that measure either wind speed or sea surface temperature.
We use these satellites to study the ocean and atmospheric variability. Scatterometers provide a wealth of wind velocity observations over the earth's bodies of water. These wind observations have a variety of applications including weather forecasting, marine safety, commercial fishing, El Niño prediction and monitoring, and medium term climate studies. The exceptional accuracy of the recent NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) and Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) are leading to development of new applications.
Current research activities include:
- Scatterometry Studies - International Ocean Vector Winds Science Team Activities
- Combining observations of wind speed, wind vectors, and in situ pressure observations, in a physically consistent manner
- Estimating diurnal variability in sea surface temperature, and the related variability in surface fluxes of heat, moisture, and momentum
- Detection of tropical disturbances, and development of a better understanding of their development (or non-development) to tropical cyclones
- Evolution of Southern hemisphere storms
- Investigation of the processes involved in the transition of sub-tropical cyclones to tropical cyclones
- Physically-based correction of rain-related problems in scatterometer observations
- Validation of purely in situ based flux products
- Improved surface forcing for ocean modeling activities
Past activities include:
- Validation of scatterometer winds
- Development of objective analysis of daily surface winds
- Physically-based understanding of the link between wind, currents, surface waves, scatterometer observations, and stress (PDF Document)
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