SeaWinds on QuikSCAT Level 3 Sigma-0 Polar-Stereographic Local-Time-of-Day Browse Images of Arctic Region
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DOI10.5067/QSBYU-ARILT
Short NameQSCAT_BYU_L3_OW_SIGMA0_ARCTIC_POLAR-STEREOGRAPHIC_BROWSE_IMAGES_LTOD
DescriptionThis dataset contains GIF images of polar-stereographic-gridded Sigma-0 retrievals over the Antarctic Polar region from SeaWinds on QuikSCAT retrievals subsetted and averaged twice daily at the local time-of-day (LTOD); local times are approximately morning (00:00 to 08:00 local) and evening (16:00 to 24:00 local). The eight hour interval at each LTOD reference of morning vs. evening corresponds to the natural boundaries of time separation within the data at polar latitudes. Hence, morning and evening are used as approximations for the LTOD reference, where the actual LTOD may vary within the respective 8 hour interval. It should be noted that these GIF images are meant for browse purposes only and should not be considered science quality. The GIF images are generated from a scientific dataset employing a Scatterometer Image Reconstruction (SIR) technique developed by Dr. David Long at Brigham Young University (BYU); the science quality source dataset containing the SIR files used to generate the GIF images is accessible here: http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/QSCAT_BYU_L3_OW_SIGMA0_ARCTIC_POLAR-STEREOGRAPHIC_BROWSE_MAPS_LTOD. The SeaWinds scatterometer scans at two nominal incidence angles, 46 degrees and 54.1 degrees, corresponding to the inner and outer beams respectively. The inner beam is horizontally polarized while the outer beam is vertically polarized. As with the SIR files, the GIF images are separated according to polarization. For example, one SIR file for a particular day and LTOD will contain the gridded average Sigma-0 values derived from the horizontally polarized L1B retrievals, while the other will contain those from the vertically polarized L1B retrievals. This dataset is generated by the Scatterometer Climate Record Pathfinder (SCP) project at BYU.
Version1
Dataset TypeCOMPLETE
MeasurementCRYOSPHERE > SEA ICE > ICE EXTENT
SPECTRAL/ENGINEERING > RADAR > SIGMA NAUGHT
Processing Level3
CoverageRegion: ARCTIC
Region: POLAR
Region: ARCTIC
Region: ARCTIC
North Bounding Coordinate: 89.6 degrees
South Bounding Coordinate: 70 degrees
West Bounding Coordinate: -180 degrees
East Bounding Coordinate: 180 degrees
Time Span: 1999-Jul-19 to 2009-Nov-21
Granule Time Span: 1999-Jul-19 to 2009-Nov-21
ResolutionSpatial Resolution: 0.201 degrees (Latitude) x 0.201 degrees (Longitude)
Temporal Resolution: 12 Hour
ProjectionProjection Type: Gridded
Projection Detail: Polar-Stereographic
Ellipsoid: WGS 84
Platform/Sensor
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.

ProjectScatterometry Climate Record Pathfinder (SCP)
Data ProviderPublisher: PO.DAAC
Creator: BYU/SCP
Release Place: PO.DAAC
Release Date: 2012-Mar-21
Resource: https://podaac-tools.jpl.nasa.gov/drive/files/allData/quikscat/L3/byu_scp/sigma0browse/docs/dLongSigBrw.pdf

Keyword(s)sigma-0, sigma0 browse, sigma0, browse, backscatter, sir, byu, ltod, local-time-of-day, local time of day, scp, david long
Questions related to this dataset? Contact podaac@podaac.jpl.nasa.gov
DATA CITATION POLICY
Citation BYU/SCP. 2012. SeaWinds on QuikSCAT Level 3 Sigma-0 Polar-Stereographic Local-Time-of-Day Browse Images of Arctic Region. Ver. 1. PO.DAAC, CA, USA. Dataset accessed [YYYY-MM-DD] at https://doi.org/10.5067/QSBYU-ARILT

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For more information see Data Citations and Acknowledgments.
Journal Reference Hicks, B. R. and D. Long. March, 2005. Improving temporal resolution of SIR images for QuikSCAT in the polar regions. Technical Report MERS 05-02. Microwave Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.