MetOp-C 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-C satellite. The product is provided by EUMETSAT's Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF) via the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI). Data is processed using the CMOD7.n geophysical model function with a Hamming filter on Sigma-0 data.

Use Cases

• Assimilating wind_vector retrievals into numerical weather prediction models to improve forecast accuracy.
• Analyzing spatial wind patterns across the full_orbit_swath for marine navigation and offshore operations.
• Validating and calibrating other satellite-derived wind products using the CMOD7.n geophysical model function outputs.
• Studying diurnal and seasonal wind variability using the time-series of wind vector cell measurements.

Strengths

• Near-real-time data with approximately 2-hour latency from the latest measurement.
• Global spatial coverage from the MetOp-C satellite's sun-synchronous polar orbit.
• Data processed with a specific geophysical model function (CMOD7.n) and spatial filter (Hamming).

Limitations

• Effective spatial resolution is 50 km, coarser than the nominal 25 km sampling resolution.
• Potential for data gaps or known issues requiring users to consult the dataset user guide periodically.
• Limited metadata on specific row count, file size, or long-term temporal coverage.

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

Retrievals from the C-band dual swath fan beam radar scatterometer (ASCAT) aboard the MetOp-C satellite, processed from ASCAT L1B data.

Freshness

Operational near-real-time with 2-hour latency.

Geography

Global ocean coverage from a sun-synchronous polar orbit.