ASCAT-B NWP Ocean Calibration and Validation

On September 17, 2012 the Metop-B satellite with onboard the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT-B) has been successfully launched. For the ASCAT-B scatterometer, corrections are derived with the use of the NWP ocean calibration (NOC). These corrections are used in the ASCAT wind data processor in order to obtain high-quality winds. The NOC-calibrated ASCAT-B wind product is examined and its quality appears on the same level as that of the ASCAT-A wind product.