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Full catalog/ASCATB_ESDR_L3_WIND_STRESS_V1.0
ASCATB_ESDR_L3_WIND_STRESS_V1.0·v1.0·dataset

Ocean surface wind speed and direction (MetOp-B, gridded)

MetOp-B ASCAT Scatterometer Inter-Calibrated ESDR Level 3 Ocean Surface Equivalent Neutral Wind Vectors and Wind Stress Version 1.0
ocean NASA POCLOUD Level 3 netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Maps of ocean surface winds — both how fast they blow and which way — plus the push (stress) those winds exert on the sea surface, at about 12.5-kilometer detail.

How it's made. Derived from the ASCAT scatterometer on the MetOp-B satellite, which senses winds from how the rough sea reflects radar, and carefully matched to readings from related instruments for consistency.

How & where you'd use it. Supports ocean and weather research, storm tracking, and studies of how wind drives ocean currents. This is an early science-evaluation release, intended first for the science team.

What's measured

OCEANS › OCEAN WINDS › SURFACE WINDS › Ocean Surface Wind VectorsOCEANS › OCEAN WINDS › WIND STRESSOCEANS › OCEAN WINDS › WIND VELOCITY/SPEED

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2013-08-01 → 2022-05-31
  • Measured byMETOP-B (ASCAT)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Watch sea-surface temperature and marine heatwaves
  • Spot algal blooms and ocean-colour shifts
  • Support fisheries and coastal monitoring
Official description

This dataset contains gridded ocean surface wind vectors (equivalent neutral and true 10m) and wind stress vectors derived from satellite-based scatterometer observations (the MetOp-B ASCAT scatterometer), representing the first science quality release of these data funded under the MEaSUREs program. This product from MetOp-B ASCAT has been intercalibrated with similar scatterometer measurements from instruments on the MetOp-A, ScatSat-1, and QuikScat satellites, all of which can be found on the MEaSUREs OSVW Project Page. The wind vector and stress retrievals are provided on a global grid (one per file) at 12.5 km pixel resolution, but data exist only over areas of the globe that fell within one of the satellite swaths/orbits for that day (see thumbnail). The dataset represents the first science quality release funded under the MEaSUREs (Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments) program. Note that this is the first version of the Level 3 data (V1.0) but they were derived from V1.1 of the Level 2 product. The primary purpose of this release is for science evaluation by the NASA International Ocean Vector Winds Science Team (IOVWST).

Get the data

ascatb_esdr_l3_wind_stress_v1.0_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="ASCATB_ESDR_L3_WIND_STRESS_V1.0",
    version="1.0",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from POCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.