CYGNSS: Ocean Surface Heat Flux Data with 25km Resolution

Version 1.1 of the CYGNSS Level 2 Ocean Surface Heat Flux Climate Data Record provides time-tagged and geolocated ocean surface heat flux parameters. The dataset has a 25x25 kilometer footprint resolution and a 1-2 month latency from the Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument aboard the CYGNSS satellite constellation. NASA produced this data record using the COARE 3.5 algorithm, which combines CYGNSS wind speed estimates with MERRA-2 auxiliary parameters.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean-atmosphere energy exchange based on latent and sensible heat flux parameters.
• Analyzing tropical cyclone development based on frequent space-based measurements of surface wind speeds.
• Studying ocean heat budget dynamics based on geolocated heat flux data with 25km resolution.
• Validating climate models based on a satellite-derived climate data record.

Strengths

• Data is produced using the validated COARE version 3.5 algorithm.
• Parameters are provided with a 25x25 kilometer footprint resolution.
• Data has a documented 1-2 month latency from satellite observation.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data is produced by the COARE 3.5 algorithm combining CYGNSS L2 CDR v1.1 wind speed estimates with NASA MERRA-2 auxiliary parameters.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:19:56.831842; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean surface coverage.