Analyzing surface wind fields near lower Cook Inlet and Kodiak waters using SAR

The unique combination of terrain and dynamic weather systems makes the coastal waters of lower Cook Inlet and Kodiak Island a complex and difficult place to forecast coastal winds. In addition, there are only a few real-time in situ observations available. However, this region has a large concentration of maritime operations that require accurate, high resolution wind information. Spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) - based surface wind speed fields, at 200 m resolution, provides detailed location and character of the wind patterns, regardless of time of day or cloud conditions. Some case studies are presented to demonstrate the usefulness of the SAR-based winds to:1) greatly improve operational marine forecasts issued for an area where synoptic and mesoscale meteorological events coexist; 2) provide detailed validation of the forecasted coastal winds; and 3) give insight on complex wind patterns and extreme winds that occur in a data sparse area.