Objective Specification of Atlantic Ocean Wind Fields from Historical Data.

Abstract : An integral part of the Wave Information Study's effort to hindcast 20 years of waves for U.S. coastlines is the reconstruction of surface wind fields from available historical meteorological data. This report presents the methodology utilized for the estimation of surface winds from pressure fields, air and sea-surface temperature fields, and observed winds from ships. A critical element in the evaluation of a numerical study such as this is an analysis of the estimated error characteristics of the results. Extensive comparisons between observed and predicted winds are presented in the report. Without exception, these comparisons indicate that the statistical characteristics of the estimated winds provide a close approximation to those of the observed winds. (Author)