This area, characterized by dense rainforests and rich biodiversity, is essential for global climate dynamics.The weather patterns of the Amazon are influenced by atmospheric circulation driven by Hadley cells and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which are crucial for the distribution of moisture and heat from the equator to the subtropics.The data provided by Aeolus can significantly enhance our understanding of these complex atmospheric processes.In this long-term validation study, we used radiosonde data collected from three stations in the Brazilian Amazon (Cruzeiro do Sul, Porto Velho, and Rio Branco) as a reference to assess the accuracy of the Level 2B (L2B) Rayleigh-clear and Mie-cloudy wind products.
Statistical validation was conducted by comparing Aeolus L2B wind products and radiosonde data covering the period from October 2018 to March 2023 for Cruzeiro do Sul and Porto Velho, and from October 2018 to December 2022 for Rio Branco.Considering all available collocated winds, including all stations, a Pearson’s coefficient
73 was observed in Rayleigh-clear and 0.85 in Mie-cloudy wind products, read more revealing a strong correlation between Aeolus and radiosonde winds, suggesting that Aeolus wind products are reliable for capturing wind profiles in the studied region.The observed biases were −0.14 m/s for Rayleigh-clear and −0.
40 m/s for Mie-cloudy, fulfilling the mission requirement of having absolute biases below 0.7 m/s.However, when analyzed annually, in 2022, the bias for Rayleigh-clear was −0.95 m/s, which did not meet the mission requirements.