Aquarius geophysical model function and combined active passive algorithm for ocean surface salinity and wind retrieval

This paper describes the updated Combined Active-Passive (CAP) retrieval algorithm for simultaneous retrieval of surface salinity and wind from Aquarius' brightness temperature and radar backscatter. Unlike the algorithm developed by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS), implemented in the Aquarius Data Processing System (ADPS) to produce Aquarius standard products, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's CAP algorithm does not require monthly climatology SSS maps for the salinity retrieval. Furthermore, the ADPS-RSS algorithm fully uses the National Center for Environmental Predictions (NCEP) wind for data correction, while the CAP algorithm uses the NCEP wind only as a constraint. The major updates to the CAP algorithm include the galactic reflection correction, Faraday rotation, Antenna Pattern Correction, and geophysical model functions of wind or wave impacts. Recognizing the limitation of geometric optics scattering, we improve the modeling of the reflection of galactic radiation; the results are better salinity accuracy and significantly reduced ascending-descending bias. We assess the accuracy of CAP's salinity by comparison with ARGO monthly gridded salinity products provided by the Asia-Pacific Data-Research Center (APDRC) and Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). The RMS differences between Aquarius CAP and APDRC's or JAMSTEC's ARGO salinities are less than 0.2 psu for most parts of the ocean, except for the regions in the Intertropical Convergence Zone, near the outflow of major rivers and at high latitudes.