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Abstract

A systematic investigation and comparison of near-surface marine wind speed obtained from in situ and satellite observations, a reanalysis, and a reanalysis-driven regional climate model (RCM) are presented for the eastern North Atlantic and the North Sea. Wind-speed retrievals from QuikSCAT Level 2B 12.5 km and HOAPS-3-S are analyzed. The root-mean-square error (rmse) between QuikSCAT and buoy 10-m equivalent neutral wind (EQNW) is 1.50 (1.87) m.s(-1) using a colocation criteria of 0.1 degrees and 0.06 degrees (0.3 degrees and 0.2 degrees) in longitudinal and latitudinal distances from buoy locations and within 10 (20) min, demonstrating that QuikSCAT's mission requirement of providing wind speed with an rmse of 2 m.s(-1) is me for the investigated area. The influence of three different stability and anemometer height correction algorithms for buoy wind speed on the buoy/QuikSCAT error is assessed: EQNW gives the best agreement with QuikSCAT data; however, differences are smaller than the buoy measurement error. The rmse between HOAPS and buoy wind converted to 10 m by the logarithmic wind profile is 2.27 (2.36) m.s(-1) using a colocation of 0.1 degrees x 0.06 degrees (0.3 degrees x 0.2 degrees) and within 10 (20) min. QuikSCAT shows good agreement with buoy wind for speeds up to 20 m.s(-1). HOAPS shows an underestimation of high wind speeds beyond 15-20 m.s(-1) probably due to a saturation of the return signal. The rmse between buoy wind speed and the National Centers of Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research Reanalysis (NRA R1) and the spectrally nudged RCM REMO (SN-REMO) are 2.2 and 2.5 m.s(-1), respectively.