Atmospheric Winds
Measurement Types
Atmospheric winds are large-scale movements of air that redistribute heat and moisture around the planet, shaping its weather and climate. Satellites can measure winds globally, either by tracking atmospheric motion or directly sensing wind effects, providing essential data for forecasting, climate studies, and hazard prediction. 1) 2) 3)
Related resources
Winds are driven by pressure gradients, temperature contrasts, and Earth’s rotation, controlling the transport of heat, moisture, momentum, aerosols, and chemicals through the atmosphere. They influence tropical cyclone development, large-scale circulation patterns such as the trade winds, and climate phenomena including El Niño and La Niña. Monitoring winds is critical for weather prediction, climate modelling, aviation safety, and extreme event forecasting. As in situ observations from radiosondes, aircraft, and surface stations are typically spatially limited, satellites provide a complementary means of observing winds globally across multiple altitudes. Wind information is derived using visible and infrared imagers, microwave sounders, scatterometers, synthetic aperture radars (SAR), and Doppler wind lidars, which retrieve winds by tracking atmospheric motion or directly detecting wind-induced effects on clouds, moisture, and aerosols. 1) 2) 3)
Satellite wind observations are provided through a combination of operational meteorological systems and research missions that demonstrate new wind-profiling capabilities for future services.
Atmospheric winds arise from pressure differences created by uneven solar heating of Earth’s surface. Warm equatorial air rises while cooler polar air sinks, establishing large-scale convection cells that transport heat. As these air masses move, Earth’s rotation deflects their paths through the Coriolis effect, which causes winds to turn to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This deflection produces the trade winds, mid-latitude westerlies, and polar easterlies that structure global circulation. 4) 5) 6)
Global wind patterns interact strongly with ocean conditions, such as in the Pacific trade winds’ influence on the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycles. Weakened trade winds allow warm water to spread eastward, fostering El Niño, while strengthened trade winds enhance upwelling of cold water in the eastern Pacific, promoting La Niña. These shifts affect global weather, rainfall, and temperature patterns.
Wind plays a central role in weather systems; it transports moisture that fuels storms, influences the strength and location of jet streams, and governs the propagation of atmospheric waves. Wind shear affects the formation and intensity of tropical cyclones, while surface winds influence evaporation and air-sea fluxes. At regional scales, winds shape air quality, disperse aerosols, and drive coastal upwelling. Understanding the vertical structure of winds, from the boundary layer to the upper troposphere, is essential for improving numerical weather prediction (NWP) and understanding climate variability. 7)
Satellite wind retrievals rely on different physical principles, depending on the instrument type:
Visible and Infrared Imagers
Geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites carrying visible and infrared imagers can track the motion of clouds, water vapour structures, or aerosol features over time. By measuring their displacement between successive images, Atmospheric Motion Vectors (AMVs) are derived. These observations provide frequent, near-real-time winds in the upper troposphere and mid-troposphere, critical for NWP. Cloud-top height estimation is used to assign wind vectors to pressure levels. 8)
Microwave Sounders
Microwave sounders measure atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles. Although they do not retrieve winds directly, microwave sounders provide temperature and humidity profiles that constrain atmospheric density and pressure fields. Through data assimilation and application of dynamic balances (e.g., thermal wind relationships), these observations improve wind analyses in numerical weather prediction models. 9)
Scatterometers and SAR
Scatterometers emit microwave pulses and measure the backscatter affected by ocean surface roughness. As surface roughness varies with wind stress, scatterometers infer measurements of near-surface ocean vector winds. C-band SAR can also retrieve high-resolution surface wind fields by detecting fine-scale changes in ocean roughness. 10)
Doppler Wind Lidars (Direct Wind Measurements)
Lidar instruments directly measure line-of-sight wind speeds using Doppler shifts in backscattered laser light from aerosols and molecules. ESA’s Aeolus mission demonstrated global wind profiling from space using UV Doppler lidar. The planned operational follow-on mission to Aeolus, EPS-Aeolus (Aeolus-2), aims to provide higher-quality, continuous operational wind measurements in support of environmental and weather services. ESA’s planned WIVERN mission will use a W-band Doppler radar to measure Doppler radial velocities from cloud and precipitation backscatter, enabling retrieval of wind profiles within cloudy regions, complementing lidar and imager techniques. 11) 12)
It is important to note that missions such as Aeolus and WIVERN differ fundamentally from operational meteorological satellites. These missions are non-operational, research-focused systems designed to demonstrate new wind-profiling capabilities, such as Doppler lidar and cloud-penetrating radar, that are not provided by standard imagers or sounders. Their data play a critical role in advancing atmospheric dynamics research and informing the development of future operational wind-profiling missions.
Example Products
Himawari-9 Atmospheric Motion Vectors (AMVs)
The Himawari-9 Atmospheric Motion Vector product is generated from the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) aboard the Himawari-9 geostationary satellite. Image sequences in visible, infrared, and water-vapour channels are used to track the motion of clouds or moisture features, with wind heights assigned using brightness temperature and cloud top estimation techniques. The product provides ten-minute updates covering the Asia-Pacific region. These AMVs support numerical weather prediction, tropical cyclone monitoring, and the analysis of upper-tropospheric jet structures. 13) 14)
MetOp-B ASCAT Ocean Vector Winds
Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) surface wind products are derived from the C-band scatterometer onboard the MetOp-B polar-orbiting meteorological satellite. Radar backscatter is converted into ocean surface vector winds using geophysical model functions calibrated with buoy measurements and long-term climate data records. The dataset provides near-global coverage every 1-2 days and forms part of a multi-mission record extending back to 2007. ASCAT winds are widely used for marine forecasting, storm detection, and studies of air-sea interactions and climate variability. 15) 16)
Aeolus Level-2B Horizontal Line-of-Sight Winds
The Aeolus Level-2B wind product is derived from the Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument (ALADIN) UV Doppler lidar aboard ESA’s Aeolus mission. Laser pulses scattered by atmospheric molecules and aerosols exhibit Doppler shifts that are processed into height-resolved line-of-sight wind profiles using Rayleigh and Mie channel retrieval algorithms. The dataset spans the mission lifetime from August 2018 to April 2023, providing global wind profiles with vertical resolutions ranging from several hundred metres to a few kilometres, depending on configuration. Aeolus’ winds have been used to improve numerical weather prediction analyses, particularly in the tropics, and to study jet-stream dynamics and tropical convection. 17)
Sentinel-1 SAR High-Resolution Surface Winds
Sentinel-1’s wind products use C-band SAR data from the Interferometric Wide (IW) and Extra-Wide (EW) swath modes of the Sentinel-1 Constellation. SAR backscatter is converted into sub-kilometer resolution (typically ~500 m-1 km effective resolution) ocean surface wind fields by applying inversion models that relate surface roughness to wind speed and direction, supported by auxiliary meteorological fields. Coverage depends on acquisition planning, with routine observations over major shipping routes and coastal regions since 2014. These high-resolution wind fields are applied in coastal hazard monitoring, offshore energy assessments, and detailed analysis of storm and cyclone surface-wind structure. 18) 19)
Related Missions
Meteosat Third Generation (MTG)
The Meteosat Third Generation Imaging (MTG-I) series is planned to consist of three geostationary satellites operated by EUMETSAT, with the first, MTG-I1, launched in December 2022. MTG will operate throughout the 2020s-2040s, replacing the Meteosat Second Generation system. Each imaging satellite carries the Flexible Combined Imager (FCI), providing high-frequency visible and infrared imagery to derive Atmospheric Motion Vectors (AMVs) across Europe, Africa, and the surrounding oceans. As an operational meteorological constellation, MTG-I delivers continuous wind observations essential for nowcasting and numerical weather prediction.
MetOp-SG (MetOp-Second Generation Program)
MetOp Second Generation (MetOp-SG) comprises six satellites in total, arranged as two parallel series (A and B), jointly developed by ESA and EUMETSAT. The original MetOp-A/B/C satellites launched between 2006 and 2018. The MetOp-SG satellites carry advanced microwave and infrared sounders, as well as a next-generation Scatterometer (SCA) to provide data on global ocean vector winds.
Aeolus and EPS-Aeolus (Aeolus-2)
ADM-Aeolus was an ESA Earth Explorer mission carrying the Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument (ALADIN), developed by Airbus Defence and Space and launched in August 2018. Using the first-ever spaceborne UV Doppler wind lidar, the mission provided global wind profile measurements in the troposphere and lower stratosphere that approached or met the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) accuracy requirements, filling a major gap in the Global Observing System. Its data was assimilated into numerical weather prediction models to improve short- and medium-range forecasts, while also supporting climate and atmospheric dynamics research through model validation and climatology. The mission ceased operations in April 2023.
EPS-Aeolus (EUMETSAT Polar System - Aeolus) is the planned operational follow-on to Aeolus. Building on the success of Aeolus, EUMETSAT and ESA are developing two operational satellites to provide continuous wind profiling as part of the EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS). EPS-Aeolus will deliver routine height-resolved wind observations that directly support numerical weather prediction and improve monitoring of jet streams, tropical convection, and atmospheric circulation.
WIVERN
WIVERN (WInd VElocity Radar Nephoscope) is a ESA Earth Explorer mission designed to demonstrate global wind profiling in cloudy regions, a capability not achievable with Doppler lidar alone. It is planned to consist of a single research satellite carrying a W-band Doppler radar capable of measuring winds from cloud and precipitation backscatter. As a science-focused mission, WIVERN will complement operational imagers, sounders, and lidar-based systems by providing wind information in regions where traditional instruments have limited sensitivity.
Sentinel-1
Sentinel-1 is an ESA C-band SAR mission within the Copernicus Programme, originally consisting of two satellites: Sentinel-1A (launched 2014, operational) and Sentinel-1B (launched 2016, decommissioned in 2022). A follow-on satellite, Sentinel-1C, was launched in 2024, maintaining operational continuity, while Sentinel-1D was launched on 4 November 2025. Sentinel-1 provides all-weather, day-and-night SAR observations that can be used to retrieve high-resolution ocean surface winds via surface roughness inversion.
References
1) NASA Earthdata, “Atmospheric Winds,” URL: https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/topics/atmosphere/atmospheric-winds
2) NOAA, “Origin of Wind,” URL: https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/synoptic/origin-of-wind
3) Cordulus, “Trade Winds,” 30 September 2025, URL: https://www.cordulus.com/glossary/trade-winds
4) National Geographic Education, “Coriolis Effect,” URL: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/coriolis-effect/
5) The Open University, “Engineering & environmental fluids: Section 3.2 Fluid flow and the Coriolis force,” URL: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/engineering-environmental-fluids/content-section-3.2
6) BBC News, “What is causing the unusual weather? Scientists point to climate change,” URL: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64192508
7) NOAA NCEI, “Numerical Weather Prediction Models,” URL: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/weather-climate-models/numerical-weather-prediction
8) EUMETSAT, “Using satellite AMVs and microwave sounders for small-satellite constellation design,” URL: https://www-cdn.eumetsat.int/files/2020-04/pdf_conf_p55_s8_44_forsythe_v.pdf
9) ECMWF, “Investigating AMVs and microwave sounders for small satellites,” URL: https://www.ecmwf.int/en/about/media-centre/news/2021/investigating-amvs-and-microwave-sounders-small-satellites
10) NASA Earthdata, “Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) — Earth Observation Data Basics,” URL: https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/earth-observation-data-basics/sar
11) ECMWF, “Use of Aeolus observations in ECMWF forecasts,” URL: https://www.ecmwf.int/en/newsletter/163/news/use-aeolus-observations-ecmwf
12) ESA, “Aeolus – Observing Earth’s Wind Profiles from Space,” URL: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Aeolus
13) EUMETSAT, “Scatterometer Winds from Small Satellites,” URL: https://www-cdn.eumetsat.int/files/2020-04/pdf_conf_p61_s2_06_shimoji_v.pdf
14) Japan Meteorological Agency, “ASWind Ocean Surface Wind Products,” URL: https://www.data.jma.go.jp/mscweb/en/product/product_ASWind.html
15) EUMETSAT, “EARS-ASCAT25 Wind Product (MetOp series),” URL: https://navigator.eumetsat.int/product/EO:EUM:DAT:METOP:EARS-ASCAT25/print
16) NOAA OSPO, “ASCAT Ocean Surface Wind Products,” URL: https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/products/atmosphere/ascat/winds.html
17) ESA EO Gateway, “Aeolus Level-2B Products,” URL: https://earth.esa.int/eogateway/catalog/aeolus-l2b-products
18) Copernicus SentiWiki, “Sentinel-1 Wind Products,” URL: https://sentiwiki.copernicus.eu/web/s1-products
19) NOAA NCEI, “Sentinel-1 SAR Wind Metadata,” URL: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:SAR-Winds-Sentinel1