Aquarius Level 3: Monthly Sea Surface Spiciness Data from Satellite Radiometers

NASA and CONAE's Aquarius/SAC-D satellite provides monthly, ascending-pass sea surface spiciness data at 1-degree spatial resolution. The dataset is derived from three radiometers measuring brightness temperature at 1.413 GHz and a scatterometer at 1.26 GHz for surface roughness corrections. This version 5.0 product was last updated on 2026-03 13.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean density and circulation patterns based on sea surface spiciness data.
• Calibrating satellite salinity retrieval algorithms based on brightness temperature and backscatter measurements.
• Studying seasonal and monthly variability in ocean surface properties from gridded, averaged data.
• Validating climate models using spatially mapped sea surface spice information.

Strengths

• Data originates from a collaborative NASA and Argentinian Space Agency (CONAE) satellite mission.
• Provides measurements from three radiometers at specific incidence angles (29, 38, and 46 degrees) and a dedicated scatterometer.
• Offers a defined spatial resolution of 1 degree and a total instrument swath of approximately 370-390 km.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and exact dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is limited to ascending satellite passes only, which may introduce sampling bias.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft's radiometers and scatterometer.

Time Range

Monthly averages.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 14:45:38.934542; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean coverage.