| CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MEASUREMENTS
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Measurements > Atmosphere >
Atmospheric Winds
  | Measurements of atmospheric winds are of primary importance to weather forecasting, and as a variable in the study of global climate change. Upper air wind speed and direction is a basic element of the climate system that influences many other variables. | |
| Detailed Measurement | Description* | Instruments | Timeline |
| Oil spill cover | Fraction of an ocean area polluted by hydrocarbons released from ships, accidental or deliberate. Impacting on ocean-atmosphere exchanges. Requested in both open ocean and coastal zone - Physical unit: [ % ] - Accuracy unit: [ % ]. | 10 instruments | |
| Turbulence | Random and continuously changing air motions which are superposed on the mean motion of the air. [Unit of measurement – classes] | 1 instrument | |
Wind profile (horizontal)
Link:   | Vertical profile of the horizontal vector component (2D) of the 3D wind vector - Requested from surface to TOA (layers: LT, HT, LS, HS&M) - 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. | 19 instruments | |
| Wind profile (vertical) | A series of wind direction and wind speed measurements taken at various levels in the atmosphere that show the wind structure of the atmosphere over a specific location. | 7 instruments | |
Wind speed over land surface (horizontal)
Link: | The rate at which air is moving horizontally past a given point. It may be a 2-minute average speed (reported as wind speed) or an instantaneous speed (reported as a peak wind speed, wind gust, or squall). Conventionally measured at 10 m height. [Unit of measurement - m/s] | 0 instruments | |
| Wind vector over land surface (horizontal) | The wind vector represents the motion of the airmass over the ground. It is described by wind speed and the inverse of wind direction. Conventionally measured at 10 m height.Accuracy is the modulus of the vector difference between measured and true vectors. [Unit ofmeasurement - m/s] | 2 instruments | |
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* Description adapted from WMO.
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