Comparison of Wind Speed and Wind Stress in the Southern Ocean

• Other Authors: Chien, Chin-Ying (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Oceanography; Atmospheric sciences; Meteorology
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-3818

The wind speed and wind stress over the Southern Ocean (SO) is compared from the QSCAT, COAPS, ERA-Int, JRA25 and NCEP2. From the results of comparison, NCEP2 seems to poorly represent wind speed in the SO. In the summer months, the difference of wind speed and wind stress between products is small while the bias during winter is larger. Also, the difference increases in the high latitudes, close to the sea-ice zone. South of 55°S, COAPS has weaker correlation of wind stress with reanalysis data. The major reasons of differences between products are associated with the impact of seaice and the differences of resolution, assimilation and parameters chosen from models. From the validation by ship data, ERA-Int fits the QSCAT and ship wind speed best in the SO. The large RMS difference of Ekman pumping between products is connected to wind variance, eddy kinetic energy (EKE), especially in the South Atlantic Ocean and South Indian Ocean during fall and winter. This implies that the difference between products may result in different responses of simulated storm activities. === A Thesis submitted to the Department of Oceanography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. === Fall Semester, 2009. === July 7, 2009. === ECMWF, QuikSCAT, NCEP, Reanalysis, Satellite Data, Wind, Southern Ocean === Includes bibliographical references. === Kevin Speer, Professor Directing Thesis; Mark Bourassa, Committee Member; Carol Anne Clayson, Committee Member; Jeff Chanton, Committee Member.