SCATSAT-1: Inter-Calibrated Ocean Surface Wind Vectors

Global ocean surface wind vectors and wind stress data are provided at a 12.5 km pixel resolution, derived from SCATSAT-1 scatterometer observations. This dataset represents the first science quality release funded under NASA's MEaSUREs program and has been intercalibrated with data from MetOp-A, MetOp-B, and QuikScat satellites. Its primary purpose is for science evaluation by the NASA International Ocean Vector Winds Science Team.

Use Cases

• Validating climate and weather models based on intercalibrated satellite wind measurements.
• Studying air-sea momentum transfer processes using wind stress vector data.
• Analyzing global wind patterns over oceans from gridded, equivalent neutral wind vectors.

Strengths

• Data is intercalibrated across multiple satellite platforms (SCATSAT-1, MetOp-A, MetOp-B, QuikScat), enhancing consistency.
• Represents the first science quality release under the NASA MEaSUREs program, indicating a benchmark standard.

Limitations

• Conflicting last-updated dates exist between sources (2026-04-09 vs. 2021-03-01).
• Column names and exact dataset size/row counts are not provided in any source.
• Data coverage is not global for any single day, limited to satellite swath/orbit paths.

Provenance

Source

Satellite-based scatterometer observations from SCATSAT-1.

Collection Method

Gridded Level 3 product derived from Level 2 scatterometer measurements.

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:37:08.970181

Geography

Global ocean coverage, but data exists only within daily satellite swaths.