High resolution wind retrieval for SeaWinds

The SeaWinds instrument on the QuikSCAT satellite was designed to measure near surface winds over the ocean at a nominal resolution of 25 km with daily global coverage. Recently, reconstruction and resolution enhancement algorithms have been applied to the QuikSCAT measurements to generate high resolution backscatter fields. These high resolution fields make it possible to retrieve the wind at higher spatial resolution. Substantially finer wind and rain features are evident in the dense wind fields. The tradeoff is a higher noise level in the estimated winds. This paper describes the high resolution wind retrieval approach and the accuracy of the resulting high resolution winds. The limitations of the high resolution winds are considered. Methods for improving the accuracy of the data are presented.