Caution, QSCAT/NCEP Blended Winds                           February, 2008
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This blended wind product was developed for general circulation scale analyses.  
It should not be used when mesoscale or ultra-high resolution is required.  

Moreover, each 6-hourly surface wind field is derived from the latest 12-hours 
of QSCAT observations.  This means that alternating halves of the globe retain 
the same QSCAT obs in each blended field output.  Therefore, the blended winds 
are not suited for point-by-point, temporal comparisons (i.e. with buoy data), 
or when true 6-hourly resolution is needed.

Due to seasonal ice coverage, QSCAT data poleward of 60 degree is sparse.  
The NCEP re-analysis are of much lower quality in polar regions as well.  
QSCAT winds can be contaminated near ice edges resulting in very high wind speeds 
that are not always removed by quality control.  Therefore, blended winds 
poleward of 60 degree latitude are of reduced quality, and gradient wind 
products, such as wind stress curl and divergence, cannot be trusted.