The oceanic surface pressure fields provided on this webpage were calculated from the L2B SeaWinds-on-QuikSCAT and SeaWinds-on-MidoriII surface wind measurements with flagged wind vectors removed (MUDH). The period currently available is July 1999-December 2005 for QuikSCAT and April-October 2003 (full mission) for SeaWinds. These pressure fields were computed using the University of Washington Planetary Boundary Layer model and surface analyses of surface temperature and surface pressure from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) as explained in Patoux (2004) and Patoux, Foster and Brown (2003, 2006 submitted). This last paper contains an evaluation of the pressure fields using buoy pressure measurements from the National Data Buoy Center and a root mean square and spectral analysis comparison with ECMWF surface analyses. Warning: The pressure fields are calculated exclusively over the ocean. However, for plotting purposes, the pressure field is plotted within each swath, giving the impression that actual values of pressure are calculated at the coast and over water bodies inland. Please disregard these locations. The closest-in-time ECMWF surface pressure analysis is overlaid on the QuikSCAT swath for comparison (dashed lines). You can download the UWPBL/QuikSCAT pressure values in a simple longitude-latitude-pressure ASCII format by clicking on each image. If you plot these values using your favorite mapping software, please use a land mask. The maps were generated using the Generic Mapping Tool (GMT) which we gladly acknowledge here and very strongly recommend as one of the best mapping softwares around. Click one of the links below: Problems or questions, please contact: Jérôme Patoux
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