Learning-Based Emulation of Sea Surface Wind Fields From Numerical Model Outputs and SAR Data
The availability of sea surface wind conditions with a high-resolution (HR) space-time sampling is a critical issue for a wide range of applications. Currently, no observation systems nor model forecasts provide relevant information with a high sampling rate in both space and time. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite systems deliver HR sea surface fields, with a spatial resolution below 0.01., but they are also characterized by a large revisit time up 7 to 10 days for temperate zones. Meanwhile, operational model predictions typically involve a high temporal resolution (e.g., every 6 h), but also a low spatial resolution (0.5 degrees). With a view to leve-raging both data sources, we investigate statistical downscaling schemes. In this study, a new model based on a machine learning method, namely support vector regression (SVR), is built to reconstruct HR sea surface wind fields from low-resolution operational model forecasts. The considered case study off Norway demonstrates the relevance of the proposed SVR model. It outperforms state-of-the-art approaches [namely, linear, analog, and empirical orthogonal function (EOF) downscaling models] in terms of mean square error. It also realistically reproduces complex space-time variabilities of the observed SAR wind fields. We further discuss the SVR model as a generalization of the popular linear and analog models.
Keyword(s)
Coastal wind, downscaling, high resolution (HR), machine learning, support vector regression (SVR)
He Guelton Liyun, Fablet Ronan, Chapron Bertrand, Tournadre Jean (2015). Learning-Based Emulation of Sea Surface Wind Fields From Numerical Model Outputs and SAR Data. Ieee Journal Of Selected Topics In Applied Earth Observations And Remote Sensing. 8 (10). 4742-4750. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2015.2496503, https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00314/42513/