Aquarius Level 3: Monthly Ascending Sea Surface Salinity Satellite Data

Monthly averaged sea surface salinity data at 1-degree spatial resolution, derived from ascending satellite passes. The dataset is produced by NASA and Argentina's CONAE from the AQUARIUS/SAC-D satellite, which uses three radiometers and a scatterometer for measurements. This is version 5.0 of the data, last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling global ocean salinity distribution based on gridded monthly averages.
• Analyzing sea surface salinity trends over time using the rain-flagged smoothed product.
• Correcting salinity estimates for surface roughness using the scatterometer backscatter data mentioned.
• Studying the relationship between brightness temperature measurements (TH and TV) and salinity.

Strengths

• Data is produced by NASA and CONAE, indicating authoritative provenance.
• Provides a specific, rain-flagged and smoothed product for the ascending satellite passes.
• Spatial resolution is explicitly defined as 1 degree.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and total data volume are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic or temporal bias inherent to the satellite's 370 km swath and orbital parameters.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the Aquarius instrument on the AQUARIUS/SAC-D spacecraft, using radiometers and a scatterometer.

Time Range

Monthly time scale.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 15:00:46.905721; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean coverage within the instrument's 370 km cross-track swath.