• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.153-178
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• 2018

Most operational uses of wind speed data require measurements at, or estimates generated for, the reference height of 10 m above mean sea level (AMSL). On the Ieodo Ocean Research Station (IORS), wind speed is measured by instruments installed on the lighthouse tower of the roof deck at 42.3 m AMSL. This preliminary study indicates how these data can best be converted into synthetic 10 m wind speed data for operational uses via the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency (KHOA) website. We tested three well-known conventional empirical neutral wind profile formulas (a power law (PL); a drag coefficient based logarithmic law (DCLL); and a roughness height based logarithmic law (RHLL)), and compared their results to those generated using a well-known, highly tested and validated logarithmic model (LMS) with a stability function (${\psi}_{\nu}$), to assess the potential use of each method for accurately synthesizing reference level wind speeds. From these experiments, we conclude that the reliable LMS technique and the RHLL technique are both useful for generating reference wind speed data from IORS observations, since these methods produced very similar results: comparisons between the RHLL and the LMS results showed relatively small bias values ($-0.001m\;s^{-1}$) and Root Mean Square Deviations (RMSD, $0.122m\;s^{-1}$). We also compared the synthetic wind speed data generated using each of the four neutral wind profile formulas under examination with Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT) data. Comparisons revealed that the 'LMS without ${\psi}_{\nu}^{\prime}$ produced the best results, with only $0.191m\;s^{-1}$ of bias and $1.111m\;s^{-1}$ of RMSD. As well as comparing these four different approaches, we also explored potential refinements that could be applied within or through each approach. Firstly, we tested the effect of tidal variations in sea level height on wind speed calculations, through comparison of results generated with and without the adjustment of sea level heights for tidal effects. Tidal adjustment of the sea levels used in reference wind speed calculations resulted in remarkably small bias (<$0.0001m\;s^{-1}$) and RMSD (<$0.012m\;s^{-1}$) values when compared to calculations performed without adjustment, indicating that this tidal effect can be ignored for the purposes of IORS reference wind speed estimates. We also estimated surface roughness heights ($z_0$) based on RHLL and LMS calculations in order to explore the best parameterization of this factor, with results leading to our recommendation of a new $z_0$ parameterization derived from observed wind speed data. Lastly, we suggest the necessity of including a suitable, experimentally derived, surface drag coefficient and $z_0$ formulas within conventional wind profile formulas for situations characterized by strong wind (${\geq}33m\;s^{-1}$) conditions, since without this inclusion the wind adjustment approaches used in this study are only optimal for wind speeds ${\leq}25m\;s^{-1}$.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.604-617
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• 2022

Sea surface temperature (SST) is a key variable that can be used to understand ocean-atmosphere phenomena and predict climate change. Satellite microwave remote sensing enables the measurement of SST despite the presence of clouds and precipitation in the sensor path. Therefore, considering the high utilization of microwave SST, it is necessary to continuously verify its accuracy and analyze its error characteristics. In this study, the validation of the microwave global precision measurement (GPM)/GPM microwave imager (GMI) SST around the Northwest Pacific and Korean Peninsula was conducted using surface drifter temperature data for approximately eight years from March 2014 to December 2021. The GMI SST showed a bias of 0.09K and an average root mean square error of 0.97K compared to the actual SST, which was slightly higher than that observed in previous studies. In addition, the error characteristics of the GMI SST were related to environmental factors, such as latitude, distance from the coast, sea wind, and water vapor volume. Errors tended to increase in areas close to coastal areas within 300 km of land and in high-latitude areas. In addition, relatively high errors were found in the range of weak wind speeds (<6 m s^-1) during the day and strong wind speeds (>10 m s^-1) at night. Atmospheric water vapor contributed to high SST differences in very low ranges of <30 mm and in very high ranges of >60 mm. These errors are consistent with those observed in previous studies, in which GMI data were less accurate at low SST and were estimated to be due to differences in land and ocean radiation, wind-induced changes in sea surface roughness, and absorption of water vapor into the microwave atmosphere. These results suggest that the characteristics of the GMI SST differences should be clarified for more extensive use of microwave satellite SST calculations in the seas around the Korean Peninsula, including a part of the Northwest Pacific.