Comparative Analysis of SCATSat-1 Gridded Winds With Buoys, ASCAT, and ECMWF Winds in the Bay of Bengal

This paper presents the first results on comparisons of Scatterometer Satellite-1 (SCATSat-1) derived wind datasets with the in situ, reanalysis as well as another operational scatterometer derived winds in the Bay of Bengal during the period November 2016-March 2017. The comparisons of daily gridded wind products of SCATSat-1 with buoys show good correlations (> 0.83), higher skill scores (> 0.92), and lower root mean square errors (RMSEs) of 0-2 m/s for wind speeds (WS) at the buoy locations. Similarly, the results corresponding to wind directions (WD) show higher correlations (> 0.95), higher skill scores (> 0.96), and relatively lower RMSEs (15-30 degrees). Further, the intercomparisons of SCATSat-1 with Advanced Scatterometer and European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis winds show strong correlations for both WS (> 0.85) and WD (> 0.94). This paper also reports the capability of SCATSat-1 to capture three tropical cyclones Kyant, Vardah, and Mora during the period of study with the highest WS of 23.5 m/s.