MetOp-B ASCAT Ocean Surface Wind Vectors at 25km Resolution

Operational near-real-time Level 2 ocean surface wind vector retrievals from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) on the MetOp-B satellite. The dataset is produced by the EUMETSAT Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility and processed by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. Data is provided in full-orbit swaths with approximately 2-hour latency from measurement.

Use Cases

• Assimilating wind vector retrievals into numerical weather prediction models to improve forecast accuracy.
• Analyzing spatial wind patterns and storm structure using the dual-swath backscatter data from the ASCAT instrument.
• Validating and calibrating other satellite-derived wind products using the CMOD.n geophysical model function retrievals.
• Studying ocean-atmosphere coupling by correlating wind vector data with sea surface temperature and wave height datasets.

Strengths

• Near-real-time data with approximately 2-hour latency from the latest measurement.
• Provides full-orbit swath coverage from a sun-synchronous polar orbit.
• Processed using the CMOD.n geophysical model function with a defined spatial averaging filter.

Limitations

• Effective spatial resolution is 50 km, coarser than the 25 km sampling resolution.
• Data availability and quality are contingent on satellite instrument status and processing updates.
• Requires specialized knowledge of netCDF format and scatterometer data interpretation.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Retrieved from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) aboard the MetOp-B satellite, processed from Level 1B Sigma-0 data using the CMOD.n geophysical model function.

Freshness

Operational near-real-time; update frequency is tied to satellite orbits.

Geography

Global ocean surface coverage from a polar-orbiting satellite.