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Full catalog/SWOT_L1B_HR_SLC_D
SWOT_L1B_HR_SLC_D·vD·dataset

Raw radar signal for mapping water heights (SWOT)

SWOT Level 1B High-Rate Single-look Complex Data Product, Version D
land NASA POCLOUD Level 1B netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Holds the raw radar signal the satellite collected, processed into detailed radar images for each antenna but not yet turned into actual water heights.

How it's made. Comes from the SWOT satellite's radar, delivered as gridded tiles covering roughly 64x64 km along one side of the swath.

How & where you'd use it. A low-level building block used to map the heights of rivers, lakes, and oceans; most users rely on the higher-level water-surface products derived from it rather than this raw radar data.

What's measured

SPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › RADAR › RADAR IMAGERY

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2022-12-16 → ongoing
  • Measured bySWOT (KaRIn, Jason-class Altimeter, AMR, DORIS, GPSP, LRA)
  • Processing levelLevel 1B
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

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

High rate data processed to single-look complex SAR images for each antenna. Gridded tile (approx 64x64 km2); half swath (left or right side of full swath). Available in netCDF-4 file format.

Get the data

swot_l1b_hr_slc_d_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="SWOT_L1B_HR_SLC_D",
    version="D",
    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.