QuikSCAT ESDR Level 2 Modeled Ocean Surface Auxiliary Fields Version 1.0

This dataset contains the first provisional release of the MEaSUREs-funded Earth Science Data Record (ESDR) of ancillary data corresponding to the QuikSCAT Level 2 (L2) data products, interpolated in space and time to the scatterometer observations. These ancillary files include: i) ocean surface wind fields from ERA-5 short-term forecasts (removed from the analyses times to reduce impacts from assimilated scatterometer retrievals at the beginning of the forecast); ii) collocated in space and time estimations of precipitation from the GPM IMERG product; iii) estimation of the surface currents from the GlobeCurrent project. These auxiliary fields are included to complement the scatterometer observation fields and to help in the evaluation process. The primary purpose of this release is for provisional evaluation to be provided by the NASA International Ocean Vector Winds Science Team (IOVWST). As such, this release is not intended for science-quality research, and is subject to future revision based on feedback provided by the IOVWST. The modeled ocean surface auxiliary fields are provided on a non-uniform grid within the native L2 QuikSCAT sampled locations at 12.5 km pixel resolution. Each file corresponds to a specific orbital revolution (rev) number, which begins at the southernmost point of the ascending orbit.