June 3
QuikScat observed a rare tropical cyclone in the northern part of the
Arabian Sea, threatening the petroleum shipping lanes and the Gulf
States (e.g. Oman) that are unprepared for such an event. This is the
strongest cyclone to hit the Arabian Peninsula since record keeping
started in 1945. The storm reached super-cyclone strength when
observed by QuikScat. It weakened as it approached landfall, probably
because of the intrusion of dry desert air into the storm.
In the images for June 3 and June 5 produced from QuikScat data,
white arrows showing wind direction are superimposed on the color
images of wind speed.
QuikScat, managed by JPL, measures ocean surface wind/stress
by sending radar pulses to the surface and measuring the strength
of the signals returned.
QuikScat Background
NASA's Quick Scatterometer (QuikScat) spacecraft was launched
from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on June 19, 1999. QuikScat
carries the SeaWinds scatterometer, a specialized microwave radar
that measures near-surface wind speed and direction under all weather
and cloud conditions over the Earth's oceans. More information about
the QuikScat mission and observations is available at
http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/quikscat/.
QuikScat is managed for NASA's Science Mission Directorate,
Washington, D.C., by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
