Aquarius L3: Ocean Surface Wind Speed 7-Day Mapped Data

7-day averaged ocean surface wind speed data at 1-degree spatial resolution from the Aquarius/SAC-D mission. The dataset is the official end-of-mission public release (Version 5.0) from a NASA and CONAE satellite collaboration. 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.
• Validating numerical weather prediction models based on satellite-derived wind observations.
• Studying wind-driven ocean circulation patterns based on 7-day averaged spatial maps.
• Calibrating other satellite wind sensors based on the L-band radiometer and scatterometer methodology.

Strengths

• Official end-of-mission public data release (Version 5.0), suggesting final calibration.
• Data from a collaborative NASA and Argentinian Space Agency (CONAE) satellite mission.
• Derived from three radiometers and a scatterometer, providing multiple measurement angles.
• Gridded at 1-degree spatial resolution, averaged over daily, 7-day, monthly, and seasonal scales.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the Aquarius instrument on the AQUARIUS/SAC-D spacecraft.

Time Range

Coverage corresponds to the Aquarius/SAC-D mission lifetime.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 14:44:25.107478; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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