Aquarius Satellite 7-Day Mean Ocean Wind Speed Grids

Version 5.0 gridded data provides 1-degree spatial resolution ocean surface wind speed averages over 7-day running means. The dataset is the official end-of-mission public release from the NASA and CONAE collaborative AQUARIUS/SAC-D mission. Data collection concluded with this final release in 2015.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spatiotemporal patterns of 7-day running mean wind speed across global oceans using the 1-degree gridded data.
• Validating numerical weather prediction model outputs against satellite-derived wind speed observations.
• Studying the correlation between wind speed and other ocean surface variables measured by the Aquarius instrument's three-beam radiometer system.
• Assessing surface roughness corrections for salinity estimation using the co-located 1.26 GHz scatterometer backscatter data referenced in the mission description.

Strengths

• Official end-of-mission public data release (Version 5.0) ensuring a stable, final product.
• Data is gridded at a consistent 1-degree spatial resolution for global analysis.
• Includes wind speed averaged over multiple temporal scales (daily, 7-day, monthly, seasonal).

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, with the last update recorded in June 2015.
• Specific row count, file size, and data volume metrics are unknown.
• The 370 km cross-track swath provides coverage but not continuous global data at a single pass.

Provenance

Source

NASA and Argentinian Space Agency (CONAE) AQUARIUS/SAC-D mission.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing using a three-radiometer push broom alignment and a 1.26 GHz scatterometer.

Time Range

Mission period until 2015.

Freshness

null

Geography

Global ocean coverage within the instrument's 370 km swath.