Aquarius Monthly Sea Surface Density Satellite Data

Monthly sea surface density data from the Aquarius/SAC-D satellite mission, averaged from ascending passes. The dataset provides gridded 1-degree spatial resolution estimates derived from retrieved salinity and collocated sea surface temperature using the TEOS-10 standard. This Level 3 standard mapped image product is version 5.0, a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's CONAE.

Use Cases

• Analyzing monthly global patterns of sea surface density using the gridded 1-degree data.
• Studying the relationship between salinity (retrieved by Aquarius) and sea surface temperature (from Reynolds OI product) via derived density.
• Validating ocean circulation and climate models with satellite-based density observations.
• Investigating seasonal and interannual variability in ocean surface properties from the time-series data.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a dedicated satellite instrument suite with three radiometers and a scatterometer for surface roughness correction.
• Provides a standardized, gridded product at 1-degree spatial resolution, facilitating global analysis.
• Based on the TEOS-10 thermodynamic equation of seawater, a recognized international standard.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts exist: one source lists a last update of 2015-06-07, while another lists 2026-03-13, creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are unknown across all sources.
• The license is unclear, listed as 'other-license-specified' on one platform and 'None' on others.

Provenance

Source

NASA and Argentina's Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE) via the Aquarius/SAC-D satellite mission.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing using radiometers measuring brightness temperature at 1.413 GHz and a scatterometer at 1.26 GHz, with derived density based on TEOS-10.

Time Range

Monthly averages (specific date range not provided in sources).

Freshness

Conflicting: 2026-03-13 (datagov) and 2015-06-07 (nasa_earthdata).

Geography

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