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Full catalog/QUIKSCAT_ESDR_L2_WSDERIV_V1.0
QUIKSCAT_ESDR_L2_WSDERIV_V1.0·v1.0·dataset

How ocean winds and their push change across space (QuikSCAT)

QUIKSCAT Inter-Calibrated ESDR Level 2 Observed and Modeled Spatial Derivatives of Surface Wind and Wind Stress Version 1.0
ocean NASA POCLOUD Level 2 netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. How ocean surface winds and the push they exert change from place to place, expressed as the 'curl' and 'divergence' of the wind and wind stress. In plain terms, it captures the spin and the spreading-or-converging of winds over the sea.

How it's made. Derived from the QuikScat scatterometer, a radar that measures wind from space, then matched up (intercalibrated) with similar instruments on other satellites so the records agree. Provided along the satellite's swath at about 12.5-kilometer pixels.

How & where you'd use it. Helps ocean and climate scientists study how wind patterns drive ocean currents and mixing. This early science-quality release is aimed at expert evaluation by the wind science team.

What's measured

OCEANS › OCEAN WINDS › CONVERGENCE/DIVERGENCEOCEANS › OCEAN WINDS › VORTICITY

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1999-10-27 → 2009-11-23
  • Measured byQUIKSCAT (SEAWINDS)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • 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 the curl and divergence of ocean surface equivalent neutral wind and wind stress, derived from satellite-based scatterometer observations aboard QuikScat, representing the first science quality release of these data funded under the MEaSUREs program. This product from QuikScat has been intercalibrated with similar scatterometer measurements from instruments on the MetOp-A, MetOp-B ASCAT, and ScatSat-1 satellites, all of which can be found on the MEaSUREs OSVW Project Page. These Level 2 data are provided on a non-uniform grid within the satellite swath at ~12.5 km pixel resolution. Each L2 file corresponds to a specific orbital revolution number, which begins at the southernmost point of the ascending orbit - the thumbnail preview shows data for all orbits over a day (typically 14 orbits). Estimates for the curls and divergences are computed over several spatial domains with varying radii from the point of interest, and included as separate variables. The dataset represents the first science quality release funded under the MEaSUREs (Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments) program. The primary purpose of this release is for science evaluation by the NASA International Ocean Vector Winds Science Team (IOVWST). This V1.0 of the data was derived from V1.1 of the L2 wind and stress product.

Get the data

quikscat_esdr_l2_wsderiv_v1.0_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="QUIKSCAT_ESDR_L2_WSDERIV_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.