CYGNSS Satellite Constellation Ocean Wind Measurements

Daily data files from up to 8 spacecraft provide calibrated Delay Doppler Maps for ocean surface wind analysis. The dataset is produced by POCLOUD as a reanalysis product derived from CYGNSS Level 1 science data, with a latency of approximately one month.

Use Cases

• Estimating ocean wind speed from calibrated Power Received and Bistatic Radar Cross Section (BRCS) measurements.
• Analyzing tropical storm intensity using the Leading Edge Slope (LES) of the integrated delay waveform.
• Monitoring long-term calibration stability by comparing Normalized Bistatic Radar Cross Section (NBRCS) values across the Version 1.1 Climate Data Record.
• Assessing data quality for specific regions using the provided sets of quality flags and error estimates.

Strengths

• Up to 8 netCDF data files are generated daily, each corresponding to a unique spacecraft.
• Calibration accuracy and long-term stability are improved relative to the SDR v3.0 source data using a trackwise correction algorithm.

Limitations

• Some samples present in the source SDR v3.0 data are lost because the trackwise correction algorithm cannot be successfully applied to all records.
• Data latency is approximately one month, dependent on the availability of ancillary MERRA wind speed reanalysis.

Provenance

Source

CYGNSS satellite constellation Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument.

Collection Method

Reanalysis product derived from SDR v3.0 Level 1 data, applying a trackwise correction algorithm.

Freshness

Daily updates with approximately one-month latency.

Geography

Global ocean coverage from satellite constellation.