Extra ocean-surface data to support wind readings (SCATSat-1)
What it measures. Supporting background fields that accompany ocean-wind readings: surface wind, rainfall, and ocean currents, matched in time and place to the scatterometer's measurement spots at about 12.5 km spacing.
How it's made. Not measured directly by the satellite; instead drawn from weather forecasts (ERA-5), a rainfall product (GPM IMERG), and an ocean-current dataset, then lined up with SCATSat-1's observation points.
How & where you'd use it. A companion dataset that helps interpret and evaluate the SCATSat-1 ocean-wind product rather than something most people use on its own.
What's measured
Coverage & cadence
- Time span2018-04-01 → 2021-03-01
- Measured byMODELS (Computer) · SCATSAT-1 (OSCAT-2)
- Processing levelLevel 2
- Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
- FormatsnetCDF-4
- StatusCOMPLETE
What you can do with it
- Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
- Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
- Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description
This dataset contains the first science quality release (post-provisional after v1.0) of the MEaSUREs-funded Earth Science Data Record (ESDR) of ancillary data corresponding to the SCATSAT-1 Level 2 (L2) data products, interpolated in space and time to the scatterometer observations. These auxiliary fields are included to complement those scatterometer observations, specifically for the SCATSAT_ESDR_L2_WIND_STRESS_V1.1 dataset. The fields include: i) ocean surface wind fields from ERA-5 short-term forecast (removed from the analyses times to reduce impacts from assimilated scatterometer retrievals at the beginning of the forecast); ii) collocated in space and time estimations of precipitation from the GPM IMERG product; iii) estimation of the surface currents from the GlobCurrent project. These auxiliary fields are included to complement the scatterometer observation fields and to help in the evaluation process. They are provided on a non-uniform grid within the native L2 SCATSAT-1 sampled locations at a nominal 12.5 km pixel resolution. Each file corresponds to a specific orbital revolution (rev) number, which begins at the southernmost point of the ascending orbit. The thumbnail shows data for two orbits - using all orbits for a single day will provide global coverage. The dataset represents the first science quality release of this product with funding from the MEaSUREs (Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments) program. Version 1.1 provides a set of updates and improvements from version 1.0, including: 1) improved variable metadata, 2) removed the GlobCurrent stokes drift variables, and 3) provided data source metadata including DOIs for the ERA-5, IMERGE, and GlobCurrent data sources. The primary purpose of this release is for science evaluation by the NASA International Ocean Vector Winds Science Team (IOVWST).
Get the data
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc") # free Earthdata Login
results = earthaccess.search_data(
short_name="SCATSAT1_ESDR_ANCILLARY_L2_V1.1",
version="1.1",
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. Official links
- Data Use and Citation Guidelines VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- HTTPS endpoint for data browse and download GET DATA
- Browse granule search results in Earthdata Search GET DATA
- Basic file content information for all L2 wind stress products from this project. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- User Guide describing the project, objectives, processing algorithms, and data products VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- PO.DAAC's project page for MEaSUREs OSVW VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- This dataset can be downloaded using the podaac-data-subscriber (the recommended tool for bulk downloading PO.DAAC data). It is a Python package for downloading one or many files using the command line interface. The URL redirects to the data-subscriber home page with instructions for utilizing the tool GET DATA
- This dataset can be accessed with the Open-source Project for a Network Data Access Protocol (OPeNDAP) API framework. This service enables variable and dimensional subsetting. The URL redirects to a page with information about utilizing the service. USE SERVICE API