ASCAT L2 winds Data Record validation report version 1.2

This report contains validation information about the Metop-A/ASCAT wind Climate Data Record (CDR), produced in the OSI SAF. The reprocessed level 1b data record, spanning the period of 1 January 2007 to 31 March 2014 was obtained from the EUMETSAT Data Centre. The data have been processed using the ASCAT Wind Data Processor (AWDP) software version 2.4, 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 ASCAT 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.