The new dataset from the IMOS Surface Waves Sub-Facility can be used for studying the impacts of extreme wind speeds, assist with ship routing, and the feasibility and design of coastal and offshore structures.
The IMOS Surface Waves Sub-Facility, with the University of Melbourne, has just published a second wind data collection in the AODN Portal. The new collection is a global ocean wind speed and direction database obtained from seven different satellite scatterometers which have been operational over the 27-year period from 1992 until 2018.
A scatterometer is a microwave radar sensor used to measure the reflection or scattering effect produced while scanning the surface of the earth from an aircraft or a satellite. For more information about scatterometry visit this NASA web page.
The scatterometers have been carefully calibrated against ocean buoys to form a consistent global dataset of wind speeds over this period.
The scatterometers measure winds across a 25km resolution grid and typically cover the whole globe at this resolution twice per day. This new IMOS dataset represents the only repository of its type; where data from all such missions can be found in a single location and calibrated in a consistent manner.
The dataset is being used by researchers and planners from around the world, and will be of use for projects as diverse as: studies of extreme wind speeds, the impacts of climate change on weather conditions, ship routing, feasibility studies for offshore wind projects and the design of coastal and offshore structures.
Thank you to Ian Young of the University of Melbourne for his contribution towards this story.
For any questions or feedback about this collection or any other AODN Portal collection, please contact us at info(at)aodn.org.au