A 10-year record from September 1999 to October 2009 provides monthly global maps of wind and wind stress fields. The dataset consists of twelve variables derived from NASA QuikSCAT scatterometer measurements using harmonic analysis. It was created by Risien et al. and archived by SCIOPS.
Use Cases
- Model seasonal wind cycles for ocean circulation studies based on the harmonic analysis of monthly wind fields.
- Validate climate model outputs against observed wind stress patterns based on the 10-year global scatterometer record.
- Analyze spatial variability of annual and semiannual wind harmonics based on the gridded monthly global maps.
- Calculate wind conditions at arbitrary time intervals for specific locations based on the available regression coefficients.
Strengths
- Data spans a continuous 10-year period from September 1999 to October 2009.
- Includes twelve variables for wind and wind stress, providing a multi-faceted climatology.
- Derived from the NASA QuikSCAT scatterometer, a recognized satellite instrument.
Limitations
- Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
- Last updated 2009-10-31 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA QuikSCAT scatterometer
- Collection Method
- Harmonic analysis of monthly mean time series fitted to a nine-parameter regression model.
- Time Range
- September 1999 - October 2009
- Geography
- Global