Hurricane Wind Retrieval Algorithm Development for a Conical Scanning Airborne Scatterometer

This paper presents the description of a data processing algorithm to provide near real-time wind retrievals (wind speed and direction) for hurricanes. This procedure uses conically scanning airborne microwave scatterometer measurements of ocean surface backscatter to infer the surface wind parameters. The algorithm is developed to best suit the specifications for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hurricane Research Division´s airborne scatterometer - integrated wind and rain airborne profiler (IWRAP). A summary of the wind retrieval algorithm design is presented. The wind retrieval performance is evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation, whereby radar backscatter measurements are simulated with noise and used to infer the surface wind conditions in a simulated hurricane wind field