ECMWF and ERS-1 surface winds over the Arabian Sea during July 1995

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and Institut Francais Pour la Recherche et l'Exploitation de ia Mer European Remote-Sen sing Satellite, named IFR2, surface wind velocity data products are compare d during July 1995 over the Arabian Sea. Substantial differences were found . The central positions of the maximum isotach were separated by 450 km, an d the ECMWF maximum isotach was 2 m s(-1) higher than that of IFR2. IFR2 wi nd components contained about 10 times more variance than ECMWF winds for h orizontal distances from 50 to 250 km. Along the 8.5 degrees N southern bou ndary of the Arabian Sea, ECMWF southward Ekman transport was higher than t hat of IFR2 by an amount that could be observed with current measurements. The ECMWF and IFR2 difference in upward transport of water into the Ekman l ayer, computed from wind stress curl, was large enough to measure.