Aquarius: Daily Sea Surface Spiciness Data from Satellite Radiometers

Aquarius Level 3 sea surface spiciness data provides gridded 1-degree spatial resolution spice measurements averaged over daily time scales. This version 5.0 product is from the AQUARIUS/SAC-D satellite, a joint mission by NASA and Argentina's CONAE. The dataset is derived from three radiometers and a scatterometer measuring brightness temperature and ocean backscatter at specific frequencies.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean density and circulation based on sea surface spiciness data.
• Analyzing temporal changes in salinity from daily averaged satellite measurements.
• Correcting sea surface roughness in salinity estimates using scatterometer backscatter data.
• Studying large-scale oceanographic features from gridded 1-degree resolution maps.

Strengths

• Data originates from a dedicated satellite instrument with three radiometers and a scatterometer.
• Provides measurements at 1.413 GHz and 1.26 GHz with horizontal and vertical polarizations.
• Offers a total cross-track swath of approximately 370 km to 390 km for spatial coverage.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE).

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the AQUARIUS/SAC-D platform's radiometers and scatterometer.

Time Range

Daily time scales.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 14:46:01.431025; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean coverage.