CYGNSS Level 1: Satellite Radar Maps for Ocean Surface Monitoring

Version 3.1 geo-located Delay Doppler Maps from the CYGNSS satellite constellation provide calibrated ocean surface scattering measurements. At most, 8 netCDF files are generated daily, typically from 6-8 spacecraft, with a latency of approximately 6 days from measurement. This dataset, produced by NASA, supersedes Version 3.0 with improved antenna gain patterns and corrections for radio frequency interference.

Use Cases

• Calibrating ocean surface scattering cross section models based on the Normalized Bistatic Radar Cross Section (NBRCS) parameter
• Estimating wind speeds over oceans using the Delay Doppler Map Average (DDMA) near the specular reflection point
• Monitoring tropical storms and hurricanes based on the increased data retrieval frequency mentioned for special circumstances
• Analyzing radio frequency interference effects on radar calibration using the added correction for coarse quantization
• Assessing orbital and spacecraft health parameters included in the dataset for sensor performance validation

Strengths

• Version 3.1 includes specific calibration improvements, such as adjusted science antenna gain patterns to match model-predicted averages
• Data latency is approximately 6 days or better from the last recorded measurement time
• Daily data volume is defined, with at most 8 files provided per day under nominal conditions from 6-8 spacecraft

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale statistical analysis

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by the Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument aboard the CYGNSS satellite constellation.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:24:54.619735; freshness should be verified

Geography

Global coverage from satellite constellation.