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Full catalog/sentinel-6-p4-1b-ntc
sentinel-6-p4-1b-ntc·dataset

Ocean radar data for climate research (Copernicus)

Sentinel-6 P4 Level 1B Non Time Critical (NTC)
land ESA ESA Copernicus active
In plain English

What it measures. Holds the highest-quality calibrated radar measurements behind ocean readings of sea surface height, wind speed, and wave height.

How it's made. Produced by the Sentinel-6 radar altimeter at Level-1B, organized by full orbits and released about 60 days later for top accuracy.

How & where you'd use it. A foundational input for climate research on long-term sea-level change; an intermediate dataset rather than a finished map.

What's measured

CopernicusSentinelEUESAEUMETSATSatelliteGlobalEarth

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2021-12-16 → ongoing
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90

What you can do with it

  • Track deforestation, fire scars and land-cover change
  • Monitor crop and vegetation health (NDVI/EVI)
  • Map how built-up vs. green an area is over time
Official description

The Sentinel-6 P4 Level 1B Non Time Critical (NTC) product delivers the highest quality ocean surface measurements (sea surface height, wind speed, and wave height), designed for climate research and long-term monitoring. The data are organized by full satellite passes and delivered within 60 days of acquisition. The product is provided in NetCDF format and is subject to reprocessing to maintain consistency with evolving standards.

Get the data

copernicus_access.py
# ESA Copernicus Data Space — open STAC API (free account)
from pystac_client import Client

cat = Client.open("https://stac.dataspace.copernicus.eu/v1")
search = cat.search(
    collections=["sentinel-6-p4-1b-ntc"],   # add _cog or _nc for a format variant
    bbox=(-10, 35, 30, 60),             # your area (W,S,E,N)
    datetime="2024-01-01/2024-12-31",
)
items = list(search.items())            # then read assets with rioxarray / xarray
Browsing the Copernicus STAC is open; downloading bytes needs a free Copernicus Data Space account.