Aquarius Satellite Seasonal Sea Surface Salinity Gridded Maps

Seasonal sea surface salinity data is provided as gridded maps at 1-degree spatial resolution from the Aquarius/SAC-D satellite mission. This version 5.0 dataset represents the official end-of-mission public release from the NASA and CONAE collaboration. The data was last updated in the public catalog in June 2015.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal patterns in global sea surface salinity using the gridded 1-degree seasonal averages.
• Validating ocean circulation models by comparing simulated salinity fields against the satellite-derived seasonal SSS maps.
• Studying the relationship between sea surface salinity and climate indices like ENSO using the time-series of seasonal data.
• Correcting for surface roughness in brightness temperature data using the collocated 1.26 GHz scatterometer backscatter measurements.

Strengths

• Data is the official final version (5.0) public release from the Aquarius mission.
• Provides salinity data at multiple temporal scales including seasonal averages.
• Salinity retrieval incorporates corrections using a dedicated 1.26 GHz scatterometer for surface roughness.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage ends with the mission conclusion, with no updates after 2015.
• Spatial resolution is coarse at 1 degree, limiting analysis of small-scale ocean features.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and detailed error statistics are not provided in the description.

Provenance

Source

NASA and Argentina's CONAE via the Aquarius/SAC-D satellite mission.

Collection Method

Derived from brightness temperature measurements at 1.413 GHz by three radiometers and backscatter from a 1.26 GHz scatterometer onboard the satellite.

Time Range

Covers the operational period of the Aquarius mission, culminating in the final v5.0 release.

Freshness

Data represents a completed mission archive, last updated in the catalog in 2015.

Geography

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