The sensitivity of ocean responses to wind forcing in the tropical Pacific

Using an ocean general circulation model, we analyzed features of ocean responses to the major differnces among surface wind fields derived from the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT), Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I), and operational numerical weather prediction model of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) for the NSCAT period from September 1996 to June 1997. In the tropical Pacific, the strongest bias for thses surface wind data is in the equatorial eastern Pacific for both wind direction and speed. Significant differences also exist in the north eastern Pacific.