Abstract
Rain is known to be the most significant phenomenon in degrading the Ku-band scatterometer wind quality. After the decommission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration scatterometer (NSCAT), little work has been done in characterizing the impact of rain on Ku-band fan beam scatterometer. In this paper, the rain impact on the backscatter measurements as well as the retrieved wind quality of the China-France Oceanography Satellite (CFOSAT) scatterometer (CSCAT) is investigated using the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) winds and the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's Microwave Imager (GMI) rain data as reference. The dependence of rain effects on the observing incidence angle is studied with the objective to optimize the configurations of wind inversion and quality control (QC). It is shown that the backscatter measurements at low incidence angles (~ 30°) are much less affected by rain than those at higher incidence angles. The operational CSCAT processing proves to be effective in screening rain-contaminated wind vectors but at the expense of many valuable winds. An adapted wind inversion scheme is proposed to further improve the CSCAT wind quality under rainy conditions.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
