Progress in Ocean Surface Vector Winds
The Ocean Surface Wind Task Group (OSW TG) has been establish in the CGMS International Winds Working Group (IWWG) that coordinates actions and recommendations with GSICS, CEOS and the IOVWST. This implies that the OSW TG actions and recommendation will be reported to/from CGMS through established IWWG mechanisms and in addition to CEOS and the IOVWST.
The virtual wind scatterometer constellation is growing fast. China’s NSOAS launched the HY2 series with HY2-B, -C and -D now providing good quality data and more launches being planned. NSOAS also operates the CFOSAT scatterometer. In 2021, CMA launched the dual-frequency WindRad, which appears promising in terms of operational performance, while optimization is ongoing. After the demise of ScatSat, ISRO recently launched OceanSat-3 with the next generation of pencil-beam scatterometer. In Europe EUMETSAT is operating the ASCAT-B and ASCAT-C scatterometers, while preparations for the launch of the EPS Second-Generation (SG) SCA scatterometer are ongoing.
Internationally coordinated projects on Cal/Val, extremes, coastal wind processing and data assimilation will be briefly introduced to provide an overview of the progress in the OSW TG.
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