Wind Speed Over Sea Surface (Horizontal) Measurement Instruments

Measurements > Ocean > Ocean surface winds > Wind speed over sea surface (horizontal)
Measurement Definition: Horizontal vector component (2D) of the 3D wind vector over the sea surface - Physical unit: [ m/s ] - Accuracy unit: [ m/s ] intended as vector error, i.e. the module of the vector difference between the observed vector and the true vector.
InstrumentStatus/
Accuracy		Instrument DescriptionMeasurement TechnologyTimeline
AltiKaOperationalSea surface height.n/a
AMSR2Operational
+/-1.1 m/s
Measurements of water vapour, cloud liquid water, precipitation, winds, sea surface temperature, sea ice concentration, snow cover, soil moisture.n/a
AMSU-AOperationalAll-weather night-day temperature sounding to an altitude of 45 km.n/a
AMSU-AOperationalAll-weather night-day temperature sounding to an altitude of 45 km. AMSU-A on Aqua is still partially operational, with 9 of the 15 channels working and collecting data.n/a
ASCATOperationalMeasures wind speed and direction over ocean, soil moisture, sea ice cover, sea ice type, snow cover and snow parameters and vegetation parametersn/a
ATMSOperationalCollects microwave radiance data that when combined with the CrIS data will permit calculation of atmospheric temperature and water vapour profiles.n/a
C-Band SAROperationalMarine core services, land monitoring and emergency services. Monitoring sea ice zones and arctic environment. Surveillance of marine environment, monitoring land surface motion risks, mapping of land surfaces (forest, water and soil, agriculture), mapping in support of humanitarian aid in crisis situations.n/a
COWVROperationalHosted on the ISS, COWVR measures the direction and speed of winds at the ocean surfacen/a
DDMI (CYGNSS)Operational
+/-2 m/s
Constellation of bistatic radar receivers using GPS satellite transmitters to detect ocean surface roughness and estimate near-surface wind speed from calm sea through hurricane force conditions and under all levels of precipitation.n/a
GMIOperationalMeasures rainfall rates over oceans and land, combined rainfall structure and surface rainfall rates with associated latent heating. Used to produce three hour, daily, and monthly total rainfall maps over oceans and land.n/a
GNSS-ROperationalThe core technology of GNSS-R is based on an indigenous space grade GPS receiver. One direct signal and eight reflected GNSS signals can be received and processed simultaneously in GNSS-R. In addition, the GNSS source is programmable. A nadir pointing antenna to measure surface reflection of GPS and GLONASS signals.n/a
MTVZA-GYOperationalAtmospheric temperature and humidity profiles, precipitation, sea-level wind speed, snow/ice coverage.n/a
MWRIOperationalAll weather observations of precipitation, cloud features, vegetation, soil moisture sea ice, etc.n/a
MWRIOperationalOcean wind and temperature measurements.n/a
POSEIDON-3B AltimeterOperationalNadir viewing sounding radar for provision of real-time high precision sea surface topography, ocean circulation and wave height data.n/a
POSEIDON-3C AltimeterOperationalNadir viewing sounding radar for provision of real-time high precision sea surface topography, ocean circulation and wave height data.n/a
Poseidon-4 AltimeterOperationalNadir viewing sounding radar for provision of real-time high-precision sea surface topography, ocean circulation and wave height data.n/a
SAR (RADARSAT-2)OperationalAll-weather images of ocean, ice and land surfaces. Used for monitoring of coastal zones, polar ice, sea ice, sea state, geological features, vegetation and land surface processes.n/a
SAR (RCM)OperationalAll-weather, C-band data to support ecosystem monitoring, maritime surveillance and disaster management.n/a
SAR-LOperationalLand, ocean, emergencies, soil moisture, interferometry, others.n/a
SCATOperationalMonitoring global sea surface winds.n/a
SGR-ReSI-CDHSOperationalOcean winds, waves, soil moisture, flooding, ice, snow. Similar to SGR-ReSI-Z, but with a smaller Zynq, and only supports 2 RF channels, only allowing collection of single frequency and single polarisation.n/a
SRALOperationalMarine and land services.n/a
WindRADOperationalMeasures sea-surface wind.n/a
AMSR3Being developedMeasurements of water vapour, cloud liquid water, precipitation including snowfall, winds, sea surface temperature, sea ice concentration, snow cover, soil moisture.n/a
IRISBeing developedKu-band Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter (with added Ka-band channel for snow depth retrieval and in combination with AMR-CR MW Radiometer for ice&snow classification and wet troposphere correction) to cover the needs for continuous monitoring of sea ice thickness and land ice elevation measurement after Cryosat-2, with enhanced performance.n/a
L-band SARBeing developedL-band SAR instrument offering full polarimetry, high spatial resolution, high sensitivity, low ambiguity ratios and capability for repeat-pass & single-pass cross-track interferometry to measure surface deformation of vegetated terrain, soil moisture, land cover classification, crop type discrimination and its temporal analysis. Furthermore, it will monitor Polar ice sheets and ice caps, and the sea-ice conditions (i.e. type, drift, deformation, concentration, lead fraction), as well as contribute to the European maritime situational awareness.n/a
MWIBeing developedMeasure cloud liquid water content, solid/liquid precipitation information, total column water vapour and temperature profiles, sea ice parameters, sea surface temperature, sea surface wind speed.n/a
MWSBeing developedAll-weather night-day temperature soundingn/a
Poseidon-5 AltimeterBeing developed n/a
SAOOHBeing developed n/a
SCABeing developedMeasures wind speed and direction over ocean, soil moisture, sea ice cover, sea ice type, snow cover and snow parameters and vegetation parametersn/a
SGR-ReSI-ZBeing developed
+/-2 m/s
Ocean winds, waves, soil moisture, flooding, ice, snown/a
MTVZA-GY-MPProposedAtmospheric temperature and humidity profiles, precipitation, sea-level wind speed, snow/ice coverage.n/a
AMSR-ENo longer operational
+/-1.5 m/s
Measurements of water vapour, cloud liquid water, precipitation, winds, sea surface temperature, sea ice concentration, snow cover and soil moisture. Instrument stopped functioning 4th October 2011.n/a
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