High-resolution mapping of oceanic wind fields with skywave radar

The direction of the mean surface wind field in the North Pacific Ocean was mapped on September 25 and 26, 1973, over an area of3 times 10^{6}(km)²by OTH-B HF radar. A spatial resolution of 60 km in range and 15 km in cross range was used at points spaced by 150 km in range and 80 km in cross range. Wind directions were inferred from the upwind/downwind first-order Bragg ratio and the measure of the maximum ratio occuring for radial winds at points near each observation. Over 90 percent of the recorded data were usable for this purpose.High spatial resolution is essential to make detailed measurements of the wind speed and direction across and along an atmospheric cold front. The location of the atmospheric cold front derived from the wind field agreed well with the ESSA VIII satellite frontal location.