Supplementing Oscat winds with Saral Altika observations for cyclone studies

Abstract. Accurate prediction of life cycle of cyclone is very critical to the disaster management practices. Since the cyclones originate over the oceans where in situ observations are limited, we have to resort to the remote sensing techniques. Both optical and microwave sensors help studying the cyclones. While scatterometer provide wind vectors, altimeters can give only wind speed. In this paper we present how altimeter measurements can supplement the scatterometer observations in determining the radius of maximum winds (RMW). Sustained maximum winds, indicator for the intensity of the cyclone, are within the eye wall of a cyclone at a distance of RMW. This parameter is also useful in predicting right time of the storm surge. In this paper we used the wind speed estimations from AltiKa, an altimeter operating at Ka band.