CYGNSS Satellite Ocean Wind Speed and Surface Roughness Data

Version 2.1 science data records from the CYGNSS satellite constellation provide average ocean surface wind speed and mean square slope measurements. Data is produced daily from up to 8 spacecraft with a latency of approximately 6 days, superseding the previous Version 2.0 release. The dataset is produced by NASA's CYGNSS mission and processed by POCLOUD.

Use Cases

• Validate and calibrate numerical weather prediction models using the 25x25 km resolution average_wind_speed measurements.
• Study ocean surface roughness dynamics by analyzing the co-located mean_square_slope (MSS) feature across different sea states.
• Assess the impact of GPS satellite block type on retrieval uncertainty using the associated quality control flag.
• Investigate wind retrieval consistency by comparing the DDMA and LES versions of the Fully Developed Seas wind speed estimates included in the record.
• Map global ocean wind patterns over time using the time-tagged and geolocated specular point samples.

Strengths

• Represents the second science-quality release (Version 2.1) with revised geophysical model functions and retrieval algorithms.
• Provides data from a constellation of up to 8 unique CYGNSS spacecraft, offering improved spatial and temporal coverage.
• Includes revised wind speed uncertainty values and new quality control flags related to GPS signal block type for improved data fidelity.

Limitations

• Specific sample count (rows), total temporal coverage, and geographic bias details are not provided in the input.
• Wind speed retrievals for samples using GPS Block II-F signals receive a fatal quality flag due to higher uncertainty, limiting usable data from those satellites.
• The 6-day latency from measurement to product availability may not be suitable for real-time monitoring applications.

Provenance

Source

NASA CYGNSS (Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System) mission, processed by POCLOUD.

Collection Method

Derived from Delay Doppler Maps (DDMs) collected by the Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument aboard the CYGNSS satellite constellation.

Freshness

One netCDF data file is produced daily with approximately 6-day latency from the last recorded measurement.

Geography

Global ocean coverage, sampled at specular points corresponding to the satellite measurements.