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Full catalog/CYGNSS_L2_V3.1
CYGNSS_L2_V3.1·v3.1·dataset

Ocean wind speed from GPS signals (CYGNSS, v3.1)

CYGNSS Level 2 Science Data Record Version 3.1
ocean NASA POCLOUD Level 2 netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Average wind speed over the ocean and a measure of sea-surface roughness, in roughly 25 km patches, with one daily file covering all the satellites.

How it's made. Derived from reflected GPS signals picked up by the CYGNSS satellite constellation; the bounce off the sea surface reveals how rough it is and thus the wind.

How & where you'd use it. Measuring ocean winds, including inside tropical storms, to support weather and storm research; this version improves accuracy using wave-height corrections.

What's measured

OCEANS › OCEAN WINDS › SURFACE WINDS › WIND DIRECTIONOCEANS › OCEAN WINDS › SURFACE WINDS › WIND SPEED

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2018-08-01 → ongoing
  • Measured byCYGNSS (DDMI)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -40, 180, 40
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

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 the Version 3.1 CYGNSS Level 2 Science Data Record which provides the time-tagged and geolocated average wind speed (m/s) and mean square slope (MSS) with 25x25 kilometer resolution from the Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument aboard the CYGNSS satellite constellation. This version supersedes Version 3.0; https://doi.org/10.5067/CYGNS-L2X30. The reported sample locations are determined by the specular points corresponding to the Delay Doppler Maps (DDMs). A subset of DDM data used in the direct processing of the average wind speed and MSS is co-located inside of the Level 2 data files. Only one netCDF data file is produced each day (each file containing data from up to 8 unique CYGNSS spacecraft) with a latency of approximately 6 days (or better) from the last recorded measurement time. Here is a summary of processing changes reflected in the v3.1 data: The L2 Geophysical Model Functions (GMFs) that map L1 observables to ocean surface wind speed were rederived to be consistent with the v3.1 L1 calibration. The method used for deriving the GMFs is the same as for v3.0. A new correction has been added to both the Fully Developed Seas (FDS) and Young Seas Limited Fetch (YSLF) wind speed products that is a function of the Significant Wave Height (SWH) of the ocean surface. The correction is based on an observed correlation between the wind speed error and SWH. The SWH value used by the correction algorithm is the ERA5 reanalysis product, coincident in space and time with a CYGNSS measurement. The FDS and YSLF retrieval algorithms are otherwise the same as v3.0.

Get the data

cygnss_l2_v3.1_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="CYGNSS_L2_V3.1",
    version="3.1",
    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.