ISS-RapidScat: Ocean Surface Wind Vectors at 12.5km Resolution

ISS-RapidScat, mounted on the International Space Station, provides ocean wind data from a unique non-sun-synchronous orbit, limiting coverage to between 61° North and South. This Level 2B dataset offers science-quality wind vectors binned on a 12.5 km grid, with Version 1.1 incorporating a neural network for rain corrections at high wind speeds. Data is provided in netCDF format and is accessible via FTP and OPeNDAP.

Use Cases

• Monitoring tropical cyclone intensity based on retrieved wind speed and direction.
• Assimilating near-real-time wind vectors into numerical weather prediction models.
• Studying diurnal wind variability in the tropics, despite the inconsistent local time of day retrieval.
• Validating other satellite wind products using the corrected measurement count variables (e.g., number_in_fore).
• Analyzing ocean-atmosphere interactions in mid-latitude regions covered by the instrument's inclination.

Strengths

• Provides science-quality wind vectors with a specific 12.5 km spatial resolution.
• Version 1.1 includes improved corrections for high wind speeds (>15 m/s) using a neural network approach.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals its importance and curation.

Limitations

• Spatial coverage is restricted to latitudes between approximately 61° North and 61° South due to the ISS orbit.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' metadata, with dates ranging from 2016 to 2026 across sources.
• Column names and dataset size/row counts are not provided in any source, limiting precise technical assessment.

Provenance

Source

NASA ISS-RapidScat mission, processed by POCLOUD (per one source).

Collection Method

Data from a Ku-band dual-beam scatterometer, binned and processed from Level 2A Sigma-0 measurements.

Time Range

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Freshness

2026-04-09 23:02:21.949414

Geography

Global coverage between approximately 61 degrees North and 61 degrees South latitude.