NOAA operational SAR winds — Current status and plans for Sentinel-1A

After many years of development and experimental production, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) transitioned the generation of winds derived from satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data to operational status on May 1, 2013, employing SAR data from the Canadian RADARSAT-2 satellite. Winds of 500 m resolution are being produced from SAR data being purchased for the U.S. National Ice Center. Products are distributed internally within NOAA and via public websites. Currently the production of winds from Sentinel-1A data are being added to this system along with the ability to produce new product output formats (e.g., CoastWatch) and a wind archive is being developed by the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.