Aquarius Level 3: Ocean Surface Wind Speed 28-Day Running Mean Data

28-day running mean ocean surface wind speed data from the Aquarius/SAC-D mission. The dataset provides gridded wind speed information at a 1-degree spatial resolution, derived from satellite radiometer and scatterometer measurements. It represents the official end-of-mission public data release (Version 5.0) from the NASA and CONAE collaborative satellite.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean-atmosphere heat and gas exchange based on gridded wind speed data.
• Analyzing long-term wind patterns and climate variability using 28-day running means.
• Calibrating and validating other wind measurement systems based on the satellite's radiometer and scatterometer data.
• Studying surface roughness effects on salinity estimation using the described backscatter corrections.

Strengths

• Provides data at a consistent 1-degree spatial resolution.
• Derived from a dedicated satellite instrument with three radiometers and a scatterometer.
• Represents the official, final public data release (Version 5.0) for the mission.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Collected by the Aquarius instrument's three radiometers and a 1.26 GHz scatterometer onboard the AQUARIUS/SAC-D satellite.

Time Range

Coverage corresponds to the operational lifetime of the AQUARIUS/SAC-D mission.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 14:44:41.845806; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean surface coverage, with a total cross-track swath of approximately 370 km.