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Full catalog/sentinel-6-p4-2-ntc
sentinel-6-p4-2-ntc·dataset

Most accurate sea-level, wave and wind data (Copernicus)

Sentinel-6 P4 Level 2 Non Time Critical (NTC)
land ESA ESA Copernicus active
In plain English

What it measures. Provides the best-quality ocean surface measurements of sea surface height, wind speed, and wave height.

How it's made. From the Sentinel-6 radar altimeter at Level-2, processed with the latest algorithms and released about 60 days later, with periodic reprocessing.

How & where you'd use it. The go-to dataset for climate research tracking long-term sea-level rise and for careful, consistent ocean studies.

What's measured

CopernicusSentinelEUESAEUMETSATSatelliteGlobalEarth

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2021-10-30 → 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 2 Non Time Critical (NTC) product delivers the highest quality ocean surface measurements, including sea surface height, wind speed, and wave height, designed for climate research and long-term monitoring. The data are processed using the most up-to-date algorithms and auxiliary information, organized by full satellite passes, and delivered within 60 days of acquisition. The product is provided in NetCDF format and is subject to regular reprocessing to maintain consistency with evolving processing 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-p4-2-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.