WMO OSCAR | Details for Instrument WindRAD

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Instrument: WindRAD

Instrument details

Acronym	WindRAD
Full name	Wind Radar
Purpose	Sea surface wind, surface soil moisture
Short description	Two frequencies, C-band (5.3 GHz) and Ku-band (13.265 GHz). Four antennas with HH and VV for both frequencies. Each pixel illuminated under several viewing angles. Minimum detectable windspeed 3 m/s. Calibration monitoring here
Background	New development
Scanning Technique	Conical scanning with incidence angles 36-45° (C-band) and 37-43° (Ku-band). Swath > 1200 km.
Resolution	C-band: 25 km, Ku-band: 10 km
Coverage / Cycle	Near-global coverage each day.
Mass		Power	265 W	Data Rate

Providing Agency	CMA
Instrument Maturity	Flown on operational programme
Utilization Period:	2021 to 2035
Last update:	2024-09-09

Detailed characteristics

Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Feng-Yun - 3 (CMA)
- FY-3E (see instrument status) Oct 2021 - 2029
- FY-3J (see instrument status) Feb 2027 - 2035

Instrument classification

Earth observation instrument
Active and radio-occultation sensor
Scatterometer

WIGOS Subcomponents

Subcomponent 1
Scatterometers [in SSO]
Scatterometer [in SSO]

Mission objectives

Primary mission objectives

Wind speed (near surface)
Wind vector (near surface)

Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.

Variable	Relevance for measuring this variable	Operational limitations	Explanation
Biomass	3 - high	Index only.. Coarse spatial resolution.	Derived from differential effect of vegetation on C-band and Ku-band
Leaf Area Index (LAI)	2 - very high	Coarse spatial resolution.	C- and Ku- band scatterometr sensitive to LAI
Sea-ice type	1 - primary	No specific limitation.	Scatterometer, C-band (around 5.3 GHz) and Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz). Type interpreted as age/roughness
Snow cover	3 - high	Coarse spatial resolution.. Thick snow only.	Scatterometer in C-band (around 5.3 GHz) and Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz)
Snow status (wet/dry)	3 - high	Coarse spatial resolution.. Thick snow only.	Scatterometer in C-band (around 5.3 GHz) and Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz)
Snow water equivalent	5 - marginal	Coarse spatial resolution.. Ground stations network needed.	Scatterometer in C-band (around 5.3 GHz) and Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz)
Soil moisture (in the roots region)	3 - high	Coarse spatial resolution.. Affected by vegetation.	Scatterometer in C-band (around 5.3 GHz) and Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz). Assimilation process required
Soil moisture at surface	3 - high	Coarse spatial resolution.. Affected by vegetation.	Scatterometer in C-band (around 5.3 GHz) and Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz) to correct vegetation impact
Wind speed (near surface)*	1 - primary	Over sea only.	C- and Ku-band scatterometer around 5.3 and 13.3 GHz
Wind vector (near surface)*	1 - primary	Over sea only.	C- and Ku-band scatterometer around 5.3 and 13.3 GHz