[Bazmundo]

Research into wind speeds over oceans via SMOS satellite data has turned up an incredible bonus for forecasting Tropical Cyclones.

An ESA programme involving Ifremer and CLS used data from the microwave radiometer where disturbances from cresting waves gave indications of wind speeds, as the 'white horses' interrupted detection of the background surface (which could be inferred from the wider surface environment I'd imagine). SMOS works in the L-band at 1.4GHz and as a result can see through the clouds and rainfall of any weather system, including hurricanes.

After noticing the signals picked up from TC 'footprints', an analysis has revealed that 9 passes over Hurricane Igor closely match the wind estimates derived by the NOAA aircraft, as well as detecting salinity disturbances in the wake.

Article: http://www.esa.int/e...YG_index_0.html