Description
The version 4.0 SMAP-SSS level 3, 8-Day running mean gridded product is based on the fourth release of the validated standard mapped sea surface salinity (SSS) data from the NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory, produced operationally by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS). Enhancements with this release include: use of an improved 0.125 degree land correction table with land emission based on SMAP TB; replacement of the previous NCEP sea-ice mask with one based on RSS AMSR-2 and implementing a sea-ice threshold of 0.3% (gain weighted sea-ice fraction); revised solar flagging that depends on glint angle and wind speed; inclusion of estimated SSS-uncertainty; consolidation of both 40KM and 70KM SMAP-SSS datasets as variable fields in a single data product. Daily data files for this product are based on SSS averages spanning an 8-day moving time window. SMAP data begins on April 1,2015 and is ongoing. L3 products are global in extent and gridded at 0.25degree x 0.25degree with a default spatial feature resolution of approximately 70KM. Note that while a SSS 40KM variable is also included in the product, for most open ocean applications, the default SSS variable (70KM) is best used as they are significantly less noisy than the 40KM data. The SMAP satellite is in a near-polar orbit at an inclination of 98 degrees and an altitude of 685 km. It has an ascending node time of 6 pm and is sun-synchronous. With its 1000km swath, SMAP achieves global coverage in approximately 3 days, but has an exact orbit repeat cycle of 8 days. On board instruments include a highly sensitive L-band radiometer operating at 1.41GHz and an L-band 1.26GHz radar sensor providing complementary active and passive sensing capabilities. Malfunction of the SMAP scatterometer on 7 July, 2015, has necessitated the use of collocated wind speed, primarily from WindSat, for the surface roughness correction required for the surface salinity retrieval.
Resources
| Name | Format | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| View this dataset's documented anomalies | HTML | Dynamically updated RSS webpage listing L2 files with missing ancillary inputs | Open resource |
| View this dataset's documented anomalies | HTML | Dynamically updated RSS webpage listing L2 files with Bad Orbits | Open resource |
| View documentation related to this dataset | HTML | SMAP-SSS Project and Instrument Overview | Open resource |
| View this dataset's documented anomalies | HTML | Information on Data Outages & Known Issues | Open resource |
| View documentation related to this dataset | ATBD, Validation Analysis, Product Specifications, etc | Open resource | |
| View this dataset's documented anomalies | HTML | Know issues README | Open resource |
| Download this dataset through a directory map | HTML | Browse and download granules over HTTPS using the virtual directories | Open resource |
| View this dataset's data recipes | HTML | Generic data readers | Open resource |
| View documentation related to this dataset | HTML | NASA SMAP Mission Website | Open resource |
| View this dataset's data citation policy | HTML | Data Use and Citation Policy | Open resource |
| Get a related visualization | JPG | Thumbnail | Open resource |
| Google Scholar search results | HTML | Search results for publications that cite this dataset by its DOI. | Open resource |
| Download this dataset through Earthdata Search | HTML | Browse granule search results in Earthdata Search | Open resource |
| View documentation related to this dataset | HTML | Remote Sensing Systems SMAP Sea Surface Salinity Website | Open resource |