Assessment of Spatiotemporal Variations in Wind Field Measurements by the Chinese FengYun-3E Wind Radar Scatterometer

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the spatiotemporal variations in wind field measurements obtained from the Chinese FengYun-3E (FY-3E) Wind Radar (WindRAD) scatterometer. To assess the performance of the wind field retrievals, we compare the FY-3E WindRAD measurements to ERA5 winds, which is the fifth-generation reanalysis global atmosphere dataset from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The comparative analysis between FY-3E and ERA5 for the period from June 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, reveals that FY-3E wind speed retrievals have a bias of −0.42 m/s and a standard deviation (STD) of 1.45 m/s. In comparison to the TAO/TRITON array observations, the wind speed retrievals show a bias of −0.70 m/s and a STD of 1.37 m/s. Further improvements in wind direction retrieval precision are necessary for the FY-3E WindRAD scatterometer to meet operational requirements, aiming for an error within 20°. Temporal variations in the bias and STD of FY-3E wind speed retrievals exhibit two states, primarily attributed to the improved precision in wind field accuracy resulting from the implementation of the ocean calibration bias correction and advanced inversion algorithms. The spatial distribution analysis reveals regions characterized by relatively high bias and STD values, which could be associated with the presence of sea ice contamination near the ice shelves in these areas. These findings have the potential to offer valuable insights for improving Earth’s climate monitoring capabilities and enhancing the applications of oceanographic satellite observation systems.

Keywords

• FengYun-3E (FY-3E)
• wind radar (WindRAD)
• scatterometer
• ocean surface wind field
• wind assessment