CYGNSS Satellite Wind Speed Measurements at 25-km Resolution

Wind speed data averaged within 25x25 kilometer grid cells along satellite tracks, derived from the CYGNSS constellation's Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument. NOAA/NESDIS produced this version using a specific geophysical model function and track-wise debiasing algorithm. One netCDF-4 file is generated per day, containing data from up to eight spacecraft with a latency of approximately six days.

Use Cases

• Analyzing wind speed performance in the higher wind speed regime using the updated retrieval algorithm.
• Filtering data based on spacecraft roll angle exceeding +/- 5 degrees using the included quality flags.
• Assessing wind speed retrieval error by referencing the newly included error variable.
• Studying spatial patterns of wind speed by geolocated 25 km grid cells along measurement tracks.
• Comparing wind speed records with legacy CYGNSS mission data using the consistent netCDF-4 formatting.

Strengths

• Data is aggregated into 25x25 kilometer grid cells for spatial consistency.
• Version 1.2 includes four major updates improving data quality and coverage.
• Daily files consolidate data from up to eight unique CYGNSS spacecraft.

Limitations

• Latency of approximately six days may limit real-time analysis applications.
• Wind speed retrieval is based on a specific geophysical model function (GMF version 1.0), which may introduce model-dependent biases.
• Geographic coverage is limited to the measurement tracks of the CYGNSS constellation.

Provenance

Source

NOAA/NESDIS using data from the CYGNSS satellite constellation.

Collection Method

Wind speed retrieved from Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument measurements using a geophysical model function and track-wise debiasing algorithm.

Freshness

Approximately 6-day latency from last recorded measurement.

Geography

Global coverage along CYGNSS satellite measurement tracks.