Metop-A ASCAT: Inter-Calibrated Ocean Surface Wind Derivatives at 12.5 km Resolution

Level 2 data from the MetOp-A ASCAT scatterometer provide the curl and divergence of ocean surface wind and wind stress. This first science quality release, funded under the NASA MEaSUREs program, contains data from approximately 14 daily orbits at a ~12.5 km pixel resolution. The dataset has been intercalibrated with measurements from MetOp-B, ScatSat-1, and QuikScat satellites.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ocean surface wind stress patterns based on curl and divergence variables.
• Studying ocean-atmosphere coupling dynamics based on intercalibrated scatterometer data.
• Validating ocean circulation and climate models based on spatial derivative estimates.
• Investigating mesoscale ocean processes based on high-resolution (~12.5 km) swath data.

Strengths

• First science quality release funded under the NASA MEaSUREs program.
• Data intercalibrated across multiple satellite platforms (MetOp-A, MetOp-B, ScatSat-1, QuikScat).
• Provides spatial derivatives (curl, divergence) computed over several spatial domains.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is provided on a non-uniform grid within the satellite swath, which may complicate analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from satellite-based scatterometer observations (MetOp-A ASCAT).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:22:49.005237; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean coverage within satellite swaths.