MetOp-A ASCAT: Reprocessed Ocean Wind Vector Climate Record

MetOp-A ASCAT provides a reprocessed Level 2 climate data record of ocean surface wind vectors sampled on a 25 km grid. The wind retrievals use the CMOD7 geophysical model function and are processed by EUMETSAT's OSI SAF via KNMI. Each file corresponds to one complete orbit and is provided in netCDF format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term climate trends in ocean surface winds based on the reprocessed climate data record.
• Studying wind vector patterns over open oceans based on the 25-km grid sampling designed to reduce noise.
• Validating atmospheric and oceanographic models using spatially averaged wind retrievals based on the Hamming filter processing.
• Comparing wind data products for trade-offs between noise and detail based on the description of 25-km versus 12.5-km sampling.

Strengths

• Reprocessed for climate studies, indicating a consistent historical record.
• 25-km sampling reduces noise compared to higher-resolution products.
• Processed using the CMOD7 geophysical model function and a Hamming filter for spatial averaging.
• Provided by authoritative organizations EUMETSAT OSI SAF and KNMI.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• 25-km products contain less geophysical information on small scales and near coasts.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF) provided through the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI).

Collection Method

Satellite measurements from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) on the MetOp-A platform in sun-synchronous polar orbit.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:47:34.364676; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean coverage from a polar orbit.