Ocean Surface Current Analyses Real-time (OSCAR) Surface Currents - Interim 0.25 Degree (Version 2.0)

(OSCAR_L4_OC_INTERIM_V2.0)
Version2.0
Processing Level4
Start/Stop Date2020-Jan-01 to Present
Short NameOSCAR_L4_OC_INTERIM_V2.0
DescriptionOcean Surface Current Analyses Real-time (OSCAR) is a global surface current database and NASA funded research project. OSCAR ocean mixed layer velocities are calculated from satellite-sensed sea surface height gradients, ocean vector winds, and sea surface temperature gradients using a simplified physical model for geostrophy, Ekman, and thermal wind dynamics. Daily averaged surface currents are provided on a global 0.25 x 0.25 degree grid as an average over an assumed well-mixed top 30 m of the ocean from 1993 to present day. OSCAR currents are provided at three quality levels: final, interim and nrt with a respective latency of each of approximately 1 year, 1 month, and 2 days. OSCAR is generated by Earth & Space Research (ESR) https://www.esr.org/research/oscar/. More details on the source datasets, file structure, and methodology can be found in oscarv2guide.pdf.
DOI10.5067/OSCAR-25I20
MeasurementOCEANS > OCEAN CIRCULATION > OCEAN CURRENTS
Platform/Sensor
NOAA-14
Platform
Name: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-14 (NOAA-14)
Orbit Period: 102.0 minutes
Inclination Angle: 99.0 degrees
/
AVHRR-2
SENSOR
Name: Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-2 (AVHRR-2)
Swath Width: 2400.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

JASON-1
Platform
Name: JASON-1 (JASON-1)
Orbit Period: 112.43 minutes
Inclination Angle: 66.04 degrees
/
JASON-1 Microwave Radiometer
SENSOR
Name: JASON-1 MICROWAVE RADIOMETER (JASON-1 Microwave Radiometer)
Swath Width: 22.9 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

JASON-1
Platform
Name: JASON-1 (JASON-1)
Orbit Period: 112.43 minutes
Inclination Angle: 66.04 degrees
/
POSEIDON-2
SENSOR
Name: JASON-1 RADAR ALTIMETER (POSEIDON-2)

TOPEX/POSEIDON
Platform
Name: Topography Experiment/Poseidon (TOPEX/POSEIDON)
Orbit Period: 112.43 minutes
Inclination Angle: 66.04 degrees
/
ALT (TOPEX)
SENSOR
Name: TOPEX ALTIMETER (ALT (TOPEX))
Swath Width: 5.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

TOPEX/POSEIDON
Platform
Name: Topography Experiment/Poseidon (TOPEX/POSEIDON)
Orbit Period: 112.43 minutes
Inclination Angle: 66.04 degrees
/
TMR
SENSOR
Name: TOPEX MICROWAVE RADIOMETER (TMR)
Swath Width: 5.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

TOPEX/POSEIDON
Platform
Name: Topography Experiment/Poseidon (TOPEX/POSEIDON)
Orbit Period: 112.43 minutes
Inclination Angle: 66.04 degrees
/
SSALT
SENSOR
Name: POSEIDON Solid State Radar Altimeter (SSALT)
Swath Width: 5.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

NOAA-17
Platform
Name: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-17 (NOAA-17)
Orbit Period: 101.2 minutes
Inclination Angle: 98.7 degrees
/
AVHRR-3
SENSOR
Name: Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-3 (AVHRR-3)
Swath Width: 2400.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

GRACE
Platform
Name: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
Orbit Period: -1.0 minutes
Inclination Angle: 89.0 degrees
/
GRACE-FO ACC
SENSOR
Name: GRACE-FO SuperSTAR Accelerometer (GRACE-FO ACC)
Swath Width: -1.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

GRACE
Platform
Name: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
Orbit Period: -1.0 minutes
Inclination Angle: 89.0 degrees
/
GRACE-FO KBR
SENSOR
Name: GRACE-FO K-Band Ranging System (GRACE-FO KBR)
Swath Width: -1.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

GRACE
Platform
Name: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
Orbit Period: -1.0 minutes
Inclination Angle: 89.0 degrees
/
GRACE SCA
SENSOR
Name: Star Camera Assembly (GRACE SCA)

OSTM/JASON-2
Platform
Name: Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2 (OSTM/JASON-2)
Orbit Period: 112.43 minutes
Inclination Angle: 66.04 degrees
/
AMR
SENSOR
Name: Advanced Microwave Radiometer (AMR)

OSTM/JASON-2
Platform
Name: Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2 (OSTM/JASON-2)
Orbit Period: 112.43 minutes
Inclination Angle: 66.04 degrees
/
POSEIDON-3
SENSOR
Name: OSTM/Jason-2 RADAR alitmieter (POSEIDON-3)
Swath Width: 5.1 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

DMSP 5D-2/F10
Platform
Name: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-F10 (DMSP 5D-2/F10)
Orbit Period: 102.0 minutes
Inclination Angle: 98.8 degrees
/
SSM/I
SENSOR
Name: Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I)
Swath Width: 1394.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

DMSP 5D-2/F11
Platform
Name: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-F11 (DMSP 5D-2/F11)
Orbit Period: 102.0 minutes
Inclination Angle: 98.8 degrees
/
SSM/I
SENSOR
Name: Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I)
Swath Width: 1394.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

ERS-2
Platform
Name: European Remote Sensing Satellite-2 (ERS-2)
Orbit Period: 100.3 minutes
Inclination Angle: 98.5 degrees
/
ERS-2 Altimeter
SENSOR
Name: European Remote Sensing 2 altimeter (ERS-2 Altimeter)

GFO
Platform
Name: GEOSAT FOLLOW-ON-1 (GFO)
Orbit Period: 33220.0 minutes
Inclination Angle: 108.0 degrees
/
GFO Altimeter
SENSOR
Name: Geosat Follow On Altimeter (GFO Altimeter)

NOAA-16
Platform
Name: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-16 (NOAA-16)
Orbit Period: 102.1 minutes
Inclination Angle: 99.0 degrees
/
AVHRR-3
SENSOR
Name: Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-3 (AVHRR-3)
Swath Width: 2400.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

NOAA-19
Platform
Name: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-19 (NOAA-19)
Orbit Period: 102.12 minutes
Inclination Angle: 98.74 degrees
/
AVHRR-3
SENSOR
Name: Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-3 (AVHRR-3)
Swath Width: 2400.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

ENVISAT
Platform
Name: Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT)
Orbit Period: 100.59 minutes
Inclination Angle: 98.55 degrees
/
RA-2
SENSOR
Name: Radar Altimeter 2 (RA-2)
Swath Width: 5.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

QUIKSCAT
Platform
Name: QUIKSCAT (QUIKSCAT)
Orbit Period: 100.93 minutes
Inclination Angle: 98.6 degrees
/
SEAWINDS
SENSOR
Name: SeaWinds Scatterometer (SEAWINDS)
Swath Width: 1800.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

DMSP 5D-2/F14
Platform
Name: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-F14 (DMSP 5D-2/F14)
Orbit Period: 102.0 minutes
Inclination Angle: 98.8 degrees
/
SSM/I
SENSOR
Name: Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I)
Swath Width: 1394.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

ERS-1
Platform
Name: European Remote Sensing Satellite-1 (ERS-1)
Orbit Period: 100.3 minutes
Inclination Angle: 98.5 degrees
/
ERS-1 ALTIMETER
SENSOR
Name: European Remote Sensing 1 altimeter (ERS-1 ALTIMETER)
Swath Width: 143.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

DMSP 5D-2/F13
Platform
Name: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-F13 (DMSP 5D-2/F13)
Orbit Period: 102.0 minutes
Inclination Angle: 98.8 degrees
/
SSM/I
SENSOR
Name: Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I)
Swath Width: 1394.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

NOAA-20
Platform
Name: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-20 (NOAA-20)
Orbit Period: 102.0 minutes
Inclination Angle: 99.0 degrees
/
AVHRR-3
SENSOR
Name: Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-3 (AVHRR-3)
Swath Width: 2400.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

METOP-A
Platform
Name: Meteorological Operational Satellite - A (METOP-A)
Orbit Period: 101.3 minutes
Inclination Angle: 98.7 degrees
/
AVHRR-3
SENSOR
Name: Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-3 (AVHRR-3)
Swath Width: 2400.0 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

JASON-3
Platform
Name: Jason-3 (JASON-3)
Orbit Period: 112.0 minutes
Inclination Angle: 66.05 degrees
/
POSEIDON-3B
SENSOR
Name: POSEIDON-3B (POSEIDON-3B)
Swath Width: 5.1 kilometers
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

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ProjectOcean Surface Current Analyses-Real time (OSCAR)
Data ProviderPublisher: PO.DAAC
Creator: ESR; Dohan, Kathleen
Release Place: CA, USA
Release Date: 2022-Jan-27

FormatnetCDF-4
Keyword(s)oscar, currents, ocean currents, sea surface currents
Questions related to this dataset? Contact podaac@podaac.jpl.nasa.gov
Resolution
Spatial Resolution: 0.25 Decimal Degrees x 0.25 Decimal Degrees
Temporal Resolution: Daily - < Weekly
 
Coverage
North Bounding Coordinate: 89.75 degrees
South Bounding Coordinate: -89.75 degrees
West Bounding Coordinate: -180 degrees
East Bounding Coordinate: 180 degrees
Time Span: 2020-Jan-01 to Present
 
Projection
Projection Type: Cylindrical Lat-Lon
Projection Detail: Geolocation information included for each pixel
 
Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. Please cite the data as follows, and cite the reference papers when it is appropriate.
Citation ESR; Dohan, Kathleen. 2022. Ocean Surface Current Analyses Real-time (OSCAR) Surface Currents - Interim 0.25 Degree (Version 2.0). Ver. 2.0. PO.DAAC, CA, USA. Dataset accessed [YYYY-MM-DD] at https://doi.org/10.5067/OSCAR-25I20

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For more information see Data Citations and Acknowledgments.

Journal Reference Bonjean, F., and G. S. E. Lagerloef. 2002. Diagnostic model and analysis of the surface currents in the tropical Pacific Ocean, American Meteorological Society, 32. https://doi.org//10.1175/1520-0485(2002)032%3C2938:DMAAOT%3E2.0.CO;2