Sentinel-1C, launched December 5, 2024, is the latest satellite in the Sentinel-1 constellation. Its Level 2 Ocean products provide geolocated geophysical data derived from C-band synthetic aperture radar imaging, including ocean wind fields, swell spectra, and surface radial velocities. The data products mirror those provided through the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem.
Use Cases
- Estimate ocean surface wind speed and direction based on the Ocean Wind field (OWI) component.
- Analyze ocean swell patterns based on the Ocean Swell spectra (OSW) component.
- Measure surface radial velocity for current applications based on the RVL component.
- Monitor ocean conditions using data from four imaging modes with resolutions down to 5 meters.
Strengths
- Data is derived from the latest satellite in the constellation, Sentinel-1C, launched in December 2024.
- Provides dual polarization capability and short revisit times.
- Operates in four imaging modes with resolutions down to 5 meters and coverage up to 400 kilometers.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- The availability of specific geophysical components depends on the acquisition mode.
Provenance
- Source
- ASF via NASA Earthdata, mirroring Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem products.
- Collection Method
- Derived from Sentinel-1C Single Look Complex (SLC) and Ground Range Detected (GRD) products.
- Geography
- Global ocean coverage from a sun-synchronous polar-orbiting satellite.