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Full catalog/SWOT_L2_HR_PIXCVec_2.0
SWOT_L2_HR_PIXCVec_2.0·v2.0·dataset

Helper data linking water-map pixels to locations (SWOT, ver C)

SWOT Level 2 Water Mask Pixel Cloud Auxiliary Data Product, Version C
hydrosphere NASA POCLOUD Level 2 netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Helper information that links each pixel in SWOT's water maps to the specific river or lake it belongs to, plus refined pixel locations after averaging.

How it's made. An auxiliary product generated alongside SWOT's water-mask pixel cloud, delivered in tiles covering roughly 64 by 64 km of one side of the swath.

How & where you'd use it. A supporting companion file used together with SWOT's main water products; it is not something people analyze on its own.

What's measured

TERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE › SURFACE WATER › SURFACE WATER FEATURES › RIVERS/STREAMSTERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE › SURFACE WATER › SURFACE WATER PROCESSES/MEASUREMENTSTERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE › SURFACE WATER › SURFACE WATER FEATURES › LAKES/RESERVOIRS

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2022-12-16 → ongoing
  • Measured bySWOT (KaRIn, Jason-class Altimeter, AMR, DORIS, GPSP, LRA)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusSUPERSEDED

What you can do with it

  • Follow rainfall, floods and surface-water extent
  • Track soil moisture and the onset of drought
  • Monitor lakes, rivers and groundwater storage
Official description

Auxiliary information for pixel cloud product indicating to which water bodies the pixels are assigned in river and lake products. Also includes height-constrained pixel geolocation after reach- or lake-scale averaging. Point cloud over tile (approx 64x64 km2); half swath (left or right side of full swath). Available in netCDF-4 file format. Please note that this collection contains SWOT Version C science data products.

Get the data

swot_l2_hr_pixcvec_2.0_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="SWOT_L2_HR_PIXCVec_2.0",
    version="2.0",
    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.