Aquarius Satellite Monthly Sea Surface Spiciness Ascending Pass Data

Level 3 standard mapped image data provides monthly sea surface spiciness derived from Aquarius satellite ascending passes. The dataset is version 5.0, produced by NASA and the Argentinian Space Agency (CONAE) from the AQUARIUS/SAC-D satellite mission. The last update for this data release was recorded in June 2015.

Use Cases

• Analyze spiciness anomalies over monthly timescales to study ocean water mass variability.
• Correlate spiciness data with other oceanographic variables using the 1-degree gridded spatial resolution.
• Validate ocean circulation models using sea surface spiciness maps derived from ascending satellite passes.
• Study surface roughness corrections for salinity estimation using the integrated 1.26 GHz scatterometer backscatter data.

Strengths

• Data is gridded at a consistent 1-degree spatial resolution for global analysis.
• Derived from three radiometers measuring brightness temperature at 1.413 GHz in horizontal and vertical polarizations.
• Incorporates a scatterometer operating at 1.26 GHz for surface roughness correction across a 390 km swath.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to the operational lifetime of the Aquarius/SAC-D satellite, with data last updated in 2015.
• Product is derived exclusively from Ascending satellite passes, which may introduce a sampling bias compared to full daily coverage.
• Specific row count, file size, and data volume metrics are unavailable for assessing dataset scale.

Provenance

Source

NASA and Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE) via the AQUARIUS/SAC-D satellite.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing using three L-band radiometers and a scatterometer, processed into gridded Level 3 standard mapped images.

Time Range

Monthly averages, specific date range unknown.

Freshness

Monthly product; last updated 2015-06-07.

Geography

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