Preliminary Performance of the WindRAD Scatterometer Onboard the FY-3E Meteorological Satellite

The first C- and Ku-band dual-frequency scatterometer (WindRAD) onboard the Chinese FengYun-3E (FY-3E) satellite was successfully launched in July 2021. The WindRAD scatterometer uses an advanced fan-beam conical scanning mechanism to acquire wind vector data of global ocean surfaces and other geophysical parameters through backscattering measurements of the Earth. This article provides an introduction to the WindRAD instrument, an overview of the data preprocessing, and assessment of WindRAD measurements. The numerical weather prediction-based ocean calibration (NOC) approach, natural targets, and cross-calibration against the Ku-band scatterometer onboard the HY-2B satellite based on collocated backscatter measurements, were used to validate WindRAD backscatter results. The evaluation results revealed that the performance of the WindRAD data is generally in good agreement with other scatterometer data currently in use, while WindRAD backscatter data may contain nonlinear calibration issues that require further investigation. WindRAD has the ability to provide high-quality global backscattering measurements, which can be used for the inversion of various geophysical parameters and assimilation applications.