SMAP Level 2B CAP: Near Real-time Sea Surface Salinity and Wind Data

NASA JPL SMAP Level 2B CAP provides validated sea surface salinity and extreme wind data from the Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite. The dataset is global, begins April 1, 2015, and is updated with a latency of about 6 hours. Each file covers one 98-minute orbit, providing data on salinity, wind speed/direction, brightness temperatures, and ancillary parameters.

Use Cases

• Monitor global sea surface salinity patterns based on the derived salinity parameter.
• Analyze extreme wind events based on the included wind speed and direction data.
• Validate or calibrate other oceanographic models based on the ancillary reference surface salinity.
• Study radiometric calibration improvements based on the enhanced brightness temperature data.

Strengths

• Data is updated with a latency of about 6 hours, supporting near real-time analysis.
• Global coverage with observations provided at a 25km swath grid.
• Dataset is ongoing, with continuous data collection since April 1, 2015.

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 JPL using the Combined Active-Passive retrieval algorithm from SMAP satellite observations.

Time Range

April 1, 2015 to ongoing

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 01:30:06.958009; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global