NOAA high resolution sea surface winds data from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on the RADARSAT-2 satellite

Description

This dataset consists of high resolution sea surface winds data produced from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on board the RADARSAT-2 satellite. The basic archive file is a netCDF-4 file containing SAR wind, a land mask, and time and earth location information. Maps of the SAR wind data in GeoTIFF format are also included. The product covers the geographic extent of the SAR image frame from which it was derived. These SAR-derived high resolution wind products are calculated from high resolution SAR images of normalized radar cross section (NRCS) of the Earth's surface. Backscattered microwave radar returns from the ocean surface are strongly dependent on wind speed and direction. When no wind is present, the surface of the water is smooth, almost glass-like. Radar energy will largely be reflected away and the radar cross section will be low. As the wind begins to blow, the surface roughens and surface waves begin to develop. As the wind continues to blow more strongly, the amplitude of the wave increases, thus, roughening the surface more. As the surface roughness increases, more energy is backscattered and NRCS increases. Moreover, careful examination of the wind-generated waves reveals that these surface wave crests are generally aligned perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction, suggesting a dependence of backscatter on the relative direction between the incident radar energy and the wind direction.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
21 These data are available through a variety of services via a THREDDS (Thematic Real-time Environmental Distributed Data Services) Data Server (TDS). Depending on the dataset, the TDS can provide WMS, WCS, DAP, HTTP, and other data access and metadata services as well. For more information on the TDS, see http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/thredds/current/tds/. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/thredds-ocean/catalog/sar-winds/radarsat2/catalog.html
0 Navigate directly to the URL for data access and direct download. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/sar-winds/radarsat2/
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2023. GCMD Keywords, Version 17. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2023. GCMD Keywords, Version 17. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links. https://doi.org/10.7289/v5m906ns
0 Information for contacts at NCEI. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
0 Institution web page http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Information for contacts at NCEI. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
0 Institution web page https://www.noaa.gov/
0 Journal article https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2012.2194157
0 These data are available through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP is no longer supported by most internet browsers. You may copy and paste the FTP link to the data into an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla or WinSCP). ftp://ftp-oceans.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data.nodc/sar-winds/radarsat2/
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2023. GCMD Keywords, Version 17. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2023. GCMD Keywords, Version 17. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Journal article. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2013.2242848
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2023. GCMD Keywords, Version 17. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links. https://doi.org/10.7289/v5m906ns
0 Search for data granules belonging to this collection (a granule is the smallest aggregation of data that can be independently described and retrieved). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/metadata/granule/geoportal/?from=0&size=10&esdsl=%7B%22query%22%3A%7B%22bool%22%3A%7B%22must%22%3A%5B%7B%22query_string%22%3A%7B%22analyze_wildcard%22%3Atrue%2C%22query%22%3A%22fileid%3ASAR-Winds-RADARSAT2.*%22%7D%7D%5D%7D%7D%7D#searchPanel
21 These data are available through a variety of services via a THREDDS (Thematic Real-time Environmental Distributed Data Services) Data Server (TDS). Depending on the dataset, the TDS can provide WMS, WCS, DAP, HTTP, and other data access and metadata services as well. For more information on the TDS, see http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/thredds/current/tds/. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/thredds-ocean/catalog/sar-winds/radarsat2/catalog.html
0 Navigate directly to the URL for data access and direct download. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/sar-winds/radarsat2/
0 These data are available through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP is no longer supported by most internet browsers. You may copy and paste the FTP link to the data into an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla or WinSCP). ftp://ftp-oceans.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data.nodc/sar-winds/radarsat2/
0 Information for contacts at NCEI. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/
0 Information for contacts at NCEI. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Institution web page https://www.noaa.gov/
0 Journal article. https://doi.org/10.1109/jstars.2013.2242848
0 Journal article https://doi.org/10.1109/tgrs.2012.2194157
0 Product documentation https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0289529
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links. https://doi.org/10.7289/v5m906ns
0 Search for data granules belonging to this collection (a granule is the smallest aggregation of data that can be independently described and retrieved). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/metadata/granule/geoportal/?from=0&size=10&esdsl=%7B%22query%22%3A%7B%22bool%22%3A%7B%22must%22%3A%5B%7B%22query_string%22%3A%7B%22analyze_wildcard%22%3Atrue%2C%22query%22%3A%22fileid%3ASAR-Winds-RADARSAT2.*%22%7D%7D%5D%7D%7D%7D#searchPanel
21 These data are available through a variety of services via a THREDDS (Thematic Real-time Environmental Distributed Data Services) Data Server (TDS). Depending on the dataset, the TDS can provide WMS, WCS, DAP, HTTP, and other data access and metadata services as well. For more information on the TDS, see http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/thredds/current/tds/. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/thredds-ocean/catalog/sar-winds/radarsat2/catalog.html
0 Navigate directly to the URL for data access and direct download. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/sar-winds/radarsat2/
0 These data are available through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP is no longer supported by most internet browsers. You may copy and paste the FTP link to the data into an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla or WinSCP). ftp://ftp-oceans.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data.nodc/sar-winds/radarsat2/
0 Information for contacts at NCEI. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/
0 Information for contacts at NCEI. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Institution web page https://www.noaa.gov/
0 Journal article. https://doi.org/10.1109/jstars.2013.2242848
0 Journal article https://doi.org/10.1109/tgrs.2012.2194157
0 Product documentation https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0289529
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links. https://doi.org/10.7289/v5m906ns
0 Search for data granules belonging to this collection (a granule is the smallest aggregation of data that can be independently described and retrieved). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/metadata/granule/geoportal/?from=0&size=10&esdsl=%7B%22query%22%3A%7B%22bool%22%3A%7B%22must%22%3A%5B%7B%22query_string%22%3A%7B%22analyze_wildcard%22%3Atrue%2C%22query%22%3A%22fileid%3ASAR-Winds-RADARSAT2.*%22%7D%7D%5D%7D%7D%7D#searchPanel
21 These data are available through a variety of services via a THREDDS (Thematic Real-time Environmental Distributed Data Services) Data Server (TDS). Depending on the dataset, the TDS can provide WMS, WCS, DAP, HTTP, and other data access and metadata services as well. For more information on the TDS, see http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/thredds/current/tds/. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/thredds-ocean/catalog/sar-winds/radarsat2/catalog.html
0 Navigate directly to the URL for data access and direct download. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/sar-winds/radarsat2/
0 These data are available through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP is no longer supported by most internet browsers. You may copy and paste the FTP link to the data into an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla or WinSCP). ftp://ftp-oceans.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data.nodc/sar-winds/radarsat2/
0 Information for contacts at NCEI. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/
0 Information for contacts at NCEI. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Institution web page https://www.noaa.gov/
0 Journal article. https://doi.org/10.1109/jstars.2013.2242848
0 Journal article https://doi.org/10.1109/tgrs.2012.2194157
0 Product documentation https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0289529
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Institution web page https://ospo.noaa.gov/
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords
0 Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 21. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords

Tags

  • latitude
  • wind_speed
  • longitude
  • oceanography
  • time

Topics

Categories