Examination of the Daily Cycle Wind Vector Modes of Variability from the Constellation of Microwave Scatterometers and Radiometers

Offshore of many coastal regions, the ocean surface wind varies in speed and direction throughout the day, owing to forcing from land/sea temperature differences and orographic effects. This near-coastal diurnal variability has been noted in microwave ocean wind scatterometer observations. Far offshore, TAO-TRITON mooring data over the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) have revealed both diurnal and semi-diurnal wind vector variability. In this manuscript, the suite of multiple scatterometers and ocean wind radiometer data are utilized in an attempt to estimate the diurnal and semidiurnal wind components. In particular, microwave radiometer-derived winds from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) are used merged with the RapidScat scatterometer data, which observe from asynchronous orbiting satellite platforms.