On the estimation of oceanic wind speed and stress from ambient noise measurements

Abstract

A simple method of measuring wind speeds over the oceans by monitoring ambient acoustical noise in the water is demonstrated. Ambient noise in our measurement band (5 kHz) is predominantly wind-generated. The accuracy in this test is ±5 knots (±2.5 m s⁻¹) at wind speeds greater than 5 knots. A sample calculation of wind stress illustrates how this method can be used to improve greatly our knowledge of the wind stress distribution over the world oceans.