Keywords
Hurricane, maximum a posteriori estimation, scatterometry, wind
Abstract
Although the SeaWinds scatterometer was not specifically designed to observe tropical cyclones, new high-resolution wind products resolve much of the horizontal structure of these storms. However, these higher resolution products (2.5 km) are inherently noisier than the standard 25-km near-surface wind products. These noise levels combined with rain contamination complicate high-resolution wind estimation-particularly in tropical cyclones. Fortunately, tropical cyclones have structures that can be exploited by using a wind field model. This paper develops a new procedure for hurricane wind field estimation from the SeaWinds instrument at ultrahigh resolution. A simplified hurricane model is developed to provide prior information to be used in maximum a posteriori probability estimation of ocean winds. Using the hurricane model ameliorates the effects of rain and noise and provides useful hurricane parameters such as the eye center location. The model also improves ambiguity selection. The new method reduces the variability of the wind speed and direction estimates, although high wind speeds still tend to be underestimated. The method also greatly improves wind direction estimates in hurricanes-even in rain-contaminated portions of the storm.
Original Publication Citation
Williams, B. A., and D. G. Long. "Estimation of Hurricane Winds from SeaWinds at Ultrahigh Resolution." Geoscience and Remote Sensing, IEEE Transactions on 46.1 (28): 2924-35
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Long, David G. and Williams, Brent A., "Estimation of Hurricane Winds From SeaWinds at Ultrahigh Resolution" (2008). Faculty Publications. 161.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/161
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2008-10-01
Permanent URL
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/1053
Publisher
IEEE
Language
English
College
Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology
Department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Copyright Status
© 2008 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.
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