Intercomparison of ERS-2 and QuikSCAT winds

Since June 1999, two satellite scatterometers are operational. The European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-2) scatterometer and the NASA Seawind scatterometer onboard the QuikSCAT satellite, provide estimation of surface wind vectors with high spatial and temporal resolutions, using different frequencies and resolution configurations. The paper presents the intercomparison between measurements inferred from the two sensors. On average, the two wind vectors compare well. The main discrepancies are found for low wind speed (less than 3 m/s). Over a wind speed range from 3 to 20 m/s, the rms values of the wind speed and direction differences are 2 m/s and 20/spl deg/, respectively, and the correlation is as high as 0.95.