Wind Fields over the Great Lakes Measured by the SeaWinds Scatterometer on the QuikSCAT Satellite

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the utility of satellite scatterometer measurements for wind retrieval over the Great Lakes on a daily basis. We use data acquired by the SeaWinds Scatterometer on the QuikSCAT (QSCAT) satellite launched in June 1999 to derive wind speeds and directions over the lakes at a resolution of 12.5 km, which is two times finer than the QSCAT standard ocean wind product at a resolution of 25 km. To evaluate QSCAT performance for high-resolution measurements of lake wind vectors, we compare QSCAT results with Great Lakes Coastal Forecasting System (GLCFS) nowcast wind fields and with standard QSCAT measurements of ocean wind vectors. Although the satellite results over the Great Lakes are obtained with an ocean model function, QSCAT and GLCFS wind fields compare well together for low to moderate wind conditions (4–32 knots). For wind speed, the analysis shows a correlation coefficient of 0.71, a bias of 2.6 knots in mean wind speed difference (nowcast wind is lower) with a root-mean-square (rms) deviation of 3.8 knots. For wind direction, the correlation coefficient is 0.94 with a very small value of 1.3° in mean wind direction bias and an rms deviation of 38° for all wind conditions. When excluding the low wind range of 4–12 knots, the rms deviation in wind direction reduces to 22°. Considering QSCAT requirements designed for ocean wind measurements and actual evaluations of QSCAT performance over ocean, results for high-resolution lake wind vectors indicate that QSCAT performs well over the Great Lakes. Moreover, we show that wind fields derived from satellite scatterometer data before, during, and after a large storm in October 1999, with winds stronger than 50 knots, can monitor the storm development over large scales. The satellite results for storm monitoring are consistent with GLCFS nowcast winds and lake buoy measurements. A geophysical model function can be developed specifically for the Great Lakes using long-term data from satellite scatterometers, to derive more accurate wind fields for operational applications as well as scientific studies.