WindSat Sea Surface Wind Vector Retrievals Based on a Simplified Forward Model

In this paper, a wind vector retrieval algorithm has been developed for the first satellite borne polarimetric radiometer WindSat based on a simplified forward model. Sea surface wind speed retrieval algorithm was developed using multiple linear regression. Multiple ambiguous wind directions were estimated with Maximum Likelihood, and the median filter was used to remove the ambiguity of wind direction. Using the buoy wind vector from U.S. National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) as ground truth, the RMS error of the retrieved wind speed is 1.17 m/s with a bias of 0.13 m/s. The wind direction retrieval results are agree with the results given in published research.