QSCAT and ADEOS-II / NCEP Blended Ocean Winds (version 1.0)

Ocean surface wind data are derived from spatial blending of high-resolution satellite data from tandem SeaWinds missions (QSCAT and ADEOS-II) and global weather center analyses (NCEP), resulting in high temporal and spatial resolution datasets (6-hourly, and 0.5 by 0.5 degree). This two-scatterometer blending product is only available for the duration of the ADEOS-II mission (April 10 to October 24 2003). The blending scheme is a variation of the single-scatterometer blending (QSCAT only, ds744.4 [http://rda.ucar.edu/datasets/ds744.4/]): the main difference is a 7.5 hour time-window used for blending versus the sliding 12-hour window in the QSCAT only blending. Available data products are: the blended product, which consists of QSCAT and ADEOS-II blended with NCEP analyses; and the low-wavenumber analysis field, which is the NCEP analyses splined to the 0.5 by 0.5 degree grid. These fields are available as wind components or as windstress curl. Details of the method are summarized in this document [http://rda.ucar.edu/datasets/ds744.8/docs/Blended_Winds_Summary_doc]. Data file formats and read routines are the same as for QSCAT/NCEP blending (ds744.4).