Aquarius Level 3 Monthly Ascending Sea Surface Salinity Gridded Data

Monthly averaged sea surface salinity data at 1-degree spatial resolution, derived from NASA and CONAE's Aquarius/SAC-D satellite. The dataset uses measurements from three radiometers and a scatterometer operating at 1.413 GHz and 1.26 GHz, respectively, to estimate salinity with surface roughness corrections. This version 5.0 product is specifically for Ascending passes and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling global ocean circulation patterns based on gridded sea surface salinity maps.
• Studying the freshwater cycle and its interaction with climate using monthly salinity averages.
• Validating and calibrating other satellite or in-situ salinity measurements based on the described radiometer and scatterometer methodology.
• Analyzing spatial and temporal salinity trends in specific ocean basins using the 1-degree resolution data.

Strengths

• Data is produced from a dedicated satellite mission, a collaboration between NASA and the Argentinian Space Agency (CONAE).
• Salinity retrieval incorporates corrections for surface roughness using a dedicated 1.26 GHz scatterometer.
• Provides data at multiple temporal scales, including the monthly averages described here.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and exact file sizes are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The dataset is limited to measurements from Ascending satellite passes only.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the Aquarius instrument's three radiometers and scatterometer onboard the AQUARIUS/SAC-D satellite.

Time Range

Monthly averages, specific date range not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 15:00:28.579211; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean coverage with a 370 km cross-track swath.