S-MODE DopplerScatt: Airborne Radar Winds and Currents

DopplerScatt's Ka-band radar, mounted on a B200 aircraft, provides concurrent 24 km swath measurements of ocean surface vector winds and currents. This Level 2 dataset captures a two-week pilot campaign in October 2021, approximately 300 km offshore of San Francisco, for the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment. Its provisional V1 data, cross-calibrated against the 'dopvis_2021' model function, is intended to give larger-scale context and validate in-situ measurements of ocean divergence.

Use Cases

• Analyzing sub-mesoscale ocean current divergence and convergence based on concurrent wind and current vector fields.
• Validating in-situ ocean velocity measurements from buoys or drifters using spatially extensive airborne radar data.
• Investigating air-sea coupling dynamics by correlating surface wind stress with ocean current patterns.
• Providing spatial context for the vertical exchange of biological variables by mapping surface flow structures.

Strengths

• Provides concurrent, co-located measurements of two critical geophysical variables: surface winds and ocean currents.
• Data is sourced from a dedicated airborne campaign with daily surveys, offering systematic spatial coverage over a 24 km swath.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA and Data.gov signals its importance and curation within the earth science community.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is medium; specific column names, row counts, and exact file sizes are unavailable from the provided sources.
• The dataset is marked as provisional (V1), with expected reprocessing after future S-MODE deployments, indicating it is not a final product.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date (2026 vs. 2021), creating uncertainty about the most recent version or metadata refresh.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Airborne remote sensing via the DopplerScatt Ka-band (35.75 GHz) scatterometer mounted on a B200 aircraft.

Time Range

October 2021 (two-week pilot campaign)

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:52:04.778332

Geography

Approximately 300 km offshore of San Francisco, Pacific Ocean.