Aquarius Level 3: 7-Day Mean Ocean Surface Wind Speed Gridded Data

Aquarius Level 3 ocean surface wind speed standard mapped image data provides gridded wind speed information at 1-degree spatial resolution. This specific dataset contains the 7-day running mean product from version 5.0, the official end-of-mission public release from the NASA and CONAE AQUARIUS/SAC-D satellite mission. The data is derived from three radiometers and a scatterometer measuring brightness temperature and ocean backscatter at L-band frequencies.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean-atmosphere heat and gas exchange based on gridded wind speed data.
• Analyzing seasonal wind patterns over the global ocean based on 7-day running means.
• Calibrating and validating other satellite or model wind products based on the standard mapped image format.
• Studying surface roughness corrections for salinity estimation based on the scatterometer backscatter data mentioned.

Strengths

• Data is from the official end-of-mission public release (version 5.0) of the Aquarius mission.
• Provides multiple temporal averages including daily, 7-day, monthly, and seasonal scales.
• Spatial resolution is specified as a 1-degree gridded standard mapped image.
• Instrument specifications are detailed, including radiometer incidence angles and scatterometer swath.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and total dataset size are 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 from the AQUARIUS/SAC-D mission's three radiometers and scatterometer.

Time Range

Covers the operational period of the AQUARIUS/SAC-D mission; specific dates are not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 14:43:48.965534; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean coverage, inferred from the satellite's 370 km cross-track swath.