NASA AQUARIUS SAC-D: Sea Surface Salinity and Wind Data from Satellite
Available on 1 platform
Sign in to view source links and access this dataset
Description
Version 5.0 Aquarius CAP Level 2 and Level 3 products contain sea surface salinity, wind speed, and wind direction data derived from the AQUARIUS/SAC-D satellite's radiometers and scatterometer. The dataset is a collaborative effort between NASA and Argentina's CONAE, with data processed using the JPL-developed Combined Active Passive algorithm. Level 2 files cover 98-minute orbits, while Level 3 products provide gridded 1-degree resolution data averaged over 7-day and monthly scales.
Use Cases
Modeling global ocean salinity patterns based on the sea surface salinity (SSS) data.
Analyzing ocean-atmosphere interactions based on the simultaneous retrieval of wind speed, direction, and salinity.
Validating and improving geophysical model functions for remote sensing based on the described CAP algorithm methodology.
Studying the effect of sea surface temperature on salinity retrievals based on the inclusion of SST in the algorithm.
Strengths
Data is derived from three radiometers and a scatterometer, providing multiple measurement perspectives.
The CAP algorithm simultaneously retrieves salinity, wind speed, and direction, suggesting integrated data consistency.
Level 3 products offer gridded data at 1-degree spatial resolution, which may facilitate large-scale analysis.
Limitations
Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
Row count and total dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
Provenance
Source
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Argentinian Space Agency (CONAE).
Collection Method
Satellite remote sensing via the AQUARIUS/SAC-D instrument, processed with the Combined Active Passive (CAP) algorithm.
Time Range
Temporal coverage is not explicitly stated in the input.
Freshness
Version 5.0 represents the fourth release, but a specific last updated date is not provided.
Geography
Global ocean coverage, with a total cross-track swath of 370 km for the radiometers and approximately 390 km for the scatterometer.