ERS L2 winds Data Record validation report version 1.1

This report contains validation information about the ERS-1 and ERS-2 scatterometer wind Climate Data Record (CDR), produced in the OSI SAF. The data have been processed using the ASCAT Wind Data Processor (AWDP) software version 3.0, as available in the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) SAF. More information about the processing and the products can be obtained from the Product User Manual.

The quality and stability of the ERS wind CDR has been assessed by looking both at backscatter and wind data. Section 2 describes the checks on the backscatter stability over time. Section 3 assesses the Quality Control applied in the products. In section 4, the winds are compared with NWP model data and with wind data from in situ buoys. Section 5 describes triple collocation experiments to assess the quality of winds from scatterometer, NWP model and buoys separately. Section 6 summarises the main conclusions.