RapidScat Level 2B Ocean Wind Vectors in 12.5km Slice Composites Version 1.3

Description

This dataset contains the RapidScat Level 2B 12.5km Version 1.3 science-quality ocean surface wind vectors, which are intended as a replacement and continuation of the Version 1.1 and 1.2 data forward from orbital revolution number 7873, corresponding to 11 February 2016; on 11 Feb 2016, RapidScat entered it's 3rd low signal to noise ratio (SNR) state and the initial calibration of low SNR 3 was preliminary during the Version 1.2 release. The fundamental difference between Version 1.3 and the previous Version 1.2 datasets is that the L1B sigma-0 has been re-calibrated during the periods of low SNR states 3 and 4 using re-pointed QuikSCAT data. The Version 1.1 should still be considered valid up to the first rev of version 1.2 (5127), and similarly version 1.2 shall be considered valid up to the first rev of version 1.3 (7873). The Level 2B wind vectors are binned on a 12.5 km Wind Vector Cell (WVC) grid and processed using the Level 2A Sigma-0 dataset. RapidScat is a Ku-band dual beam circular rotating scatterometer retaining much of the same hardware and functionality of QuikSCAT, with exception of the antenna sub-system and digital interface to the International Space Station (ISS) Columbus module, which is where RapidScat is mounted. The NASA mission is officially referred to as ISS-RapidScat. Unlike QuikSCAT, ISS-RapidScat is not in sun-synchronous orbit, and flies at roughly half the altitude with a low inclination angle that restricts data coverage to the tropics and mid-latitude regions; the extent of latitudinal coverage stretches from approximately 61 degrees North to 61 degrees South. Furthermore, there is no consistent local time of day retrieval. This dataset is provided in a netCDF-3 file format that follows the netCDF-4 classic model (i.e., generated by the netCDF-4 API) and made available via FTP and OPeNDAP. For data access, please click on the "Data Access" tab above. It is advised for users to avoid using the "wind_obj" variable in this dataset since it is minimally applicable and meant primarily for quality assurance; for users who wish to access the objective function values for each ambiguity, it is suggested to use only the "ambiguity_obj" variable. The "wind_obj" variable contains DIRTH probabilities (which are derived form the "ambiguity_obj" objective function values) in the range of 0 to 1 indicating the conditional probability that the true direction is within + or - 2.5 degrees of the retrieved wind direction given the observed backscatter measurements in the cell. If you have any questions or concerns, please visit our Forum at https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/forum/.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
21 Access to Climate quality L2B data record. http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/RSCAT_LEVEL_2B_OWV_CLIM_12_V1
33 User Guide https://archive.podaac.earthdata.nasa.gov/podaac-ops-cumulus-docs/rapidscat/open/L2B12/docs/rscat_l2b_user_guide_v1.pdf
21 Search results for publications that cite this dataset by its DOI. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=10.5067%2FRSX12-L2B13
21 Text file containing reverse chronological list of future scheduled outages and past outages. A start/stop date/time and description is provided for each outage. This list is maintained by NOAA/NESDIS to service near-real-time data users. http://manati.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/rscat_images/monitor/RapidScat_Scheduled_Outages.txt
21 Website providing more detailed information about the ISS-RapidScat Mission. https://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/RapidScat/
33 Summary of Facts on the ISS-RapidScat Mission http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact_sheets/issrapidscat_factsheet.pdf
21 Detailed background information on the ISS-RapidScat mission published by the eoPortal. https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/i/iss-rapidscat
21 Browse granule search results in Earthdata Search https://search.earthdata.nasa.gov/search/granules?p=C2526576326-POCLOUD
21 README file https://archive.podaac.earthdata.nasa.gov/podaac-ops-cumulus-docs/rapidscat/open/L2B12/v1.3/README.txt
21 Data Use and Citation Policy https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/CitingPODAAC
8 ASCII CSV orbital revolution time tables with quality assurance information. https://podaac-tools.jpl.nasa.gov/drive/files/allData/rapidscat/ancillary/revtime.csv
22 Thumbnail https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/Podaac/thumbnails/RSCAT_LEVEL_2B_OWV_COMP_12_V1.3.jpg
21 HTTPS endpoint for data browse and download https://cmr.earthdata.nasa.gov/virtual-directory/collections/C2526576326-POCLOUD

Tags

  • oceans
  • ocean-winds
  • earth-science

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