Diurnal Variations in Ocean Wind Speeds Measured by CYGNSS and Other Satellites

Abstract

Ocean wind speed and/or wind vector measurements from the cyclone global navigation satellite system (CYGNSS), advanced scatterometer (ASCAT), and WindSat satellites are used to investigate diurnal wind variations over the tropical ocean using a method previously reported for diurnal amplitude estimation. The resulting diurnal variability in wind speed is examined in terms of its spatial and temporal properties. The results also show that the remotely sensed diurnal amplitudes obtained are largely consistent with those predicted by the existing reanalysis products such as the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA5.