Synergism between a nonlinear PBL model and satellite wind data

The UW Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) model has been developed over the past 37 years to provide the correct wind profile for flow in a rotating coordinate system. This requires a nonlinear solution of the Ekman layer since the basic K-Theory Ekman solution is unstable to infinitesimal perturbations and therefore physically incorrect. The University of Washington PBL solution has been used to provide correct winds for satellite model functions and innovative applications of the surface wind data. Scatterometer and SAR data have been used to verify that the nonlinear solution is the prevailing solution for flow in the atmosphere and ocean. After a decade of comparison with NMC wind products, it is clear that the combination of the scatterometer and the PBL model yield superior information about the global pressure fields. Examples and uses are given. The pressure fields are used to correct the scatterometer winds where they are contaminated by rain or poorly retrieved due to antenna geometry, yielding a smooth wind field. The model has been used successfully to initialize a GCM with Geostrophic (pressure gradient) winds, yielding superior prognoses to initialization with surface winds. The pressure fields derived from QuikScat data are being used routinely by NCEP as a real-time forecast aid.