RapidScat Level 2A Surface Flagged Sigma-0 and Attenuations in 12.5Km Swath Grid Version 1.3
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DOI10.5067/RSX12-L2A13
Short NameRSCAT_L2A_12KM_V1.3
DescriptionThis dataset contains the Version 1.3 ISS-RapidScat on Level 2A 12.5 km science data record, which provides surface-flagged sigma-0 in 12.5 km Wind Vector Cells processed using the pulse "slice" Sigma-0 data provided by the Level 1B dataset. Version 1.3 is intended as a replacement and continuation of the Version 1.1 and Version 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. Due to the circular scan of the RapidScat instrument the expected number of Sigma-0 cells per WVC is not constant. To minimize the L2A data volume, the Sigma-0 cell data are stored as "lists" for each WVC row, with each list indexed by a "cell_index" array to indicate the cross-track WVC membership of the data. Each cell is then checked for land or ice and flagged accordingly. Attenuation corrections for each Sigma-0 measurement are also provided. Data are provided in single-orbit files in HDF-4 format. 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. If you have any questions or concerns, please visit our Forum at https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/forum/.
Version1.3
Dataset TypeOPEN
MeasurementSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING > RADAR > SIGMA NAUGHT > NONE
Processing Level2A
CoverageRegion: Global
Northernmost Latitude: 61 degrees
Southernmost Latitude: -61 degrees
Westernmost Longitude: 0 degrees
Easternmost Longitude: 360 degrees
Time Span: 2016-Feb-11 to 2016-Aug-19
Granule Time Span: 2016-Feb-11 to 2016-Aug-19
ResolutionSpatial Resolution: 12.5 km (Along) x 12.5 km (Across)
ProjectionType:
Detail:
Ellipsoid: WGS 84
Latency hours
Swath Width900000 m
Sample Frequency89
Temporal Repeat (Nominal)12 Hour
Temporal Repeat (Min)1.5 Hour
Temporal Repeat (Max)3 Day
Platform/Sensor
ISS
Platform
Name: International Space Station (ISS)
Orbit Period: 92.91 minutes
Inclination Angle: 51.65 degrees
Ascending Node: 1970-Jan-01 00:00:00
/
RapidScat
SENSOR
Name: Rapid Scatterometer (RapidScat)
Swath Width: 1100 km
Description: The ISS RapidScat instrument is a speedy and cost-effective replacement for NASA's QuikScat Earth satellite, which monitored ocean winds to provide essential measurements used in weather predictions, including hurricane monitoring.

ProjectInternational Space Station Rapid Scatterometer (ISS_RapidScat)
Data ProviderCreator: RapidScat Project
Release Place: PO.DAAC
Release Date: 2016-Oct-28
Resource: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact_sheets/issrapidscat_factsheet.pdf
Keyword(s)international space station, space station, iss, rapidscat, rscat, iss-rapidscat, winds, radar, ocean, roughness, ocean roughness, backscatter, normalized radar cross-section, normalized radar cross section, nrcs, dB, sigma-0, sigma0, sigma naught, scatterometer, seawinds, l2a, l2, level 2, level 2a, 12.5 km, 12.5-km, 12.5, version 1, v1, version 1.3, v1.3, V1.3, 1.3
Persistent IDPODAAC-RSX12-L2A13
Questions related to this dataset? Contact podaac@podaac.jpl.nasa.gov
Project Materials
ISS-RapidScat Fact Sheethttp://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact_sheets/issrapidscat_factsheet.pdf
Summary of Facts on the ISS-RapidScat Mission
Additional Sites
eoPortal Directory for ISS-RapidScathttps://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/i/iss-rapidscat
Detailed background information on the ISS-RapidScat mission published by the eoPortal.
Known Issues
revtime.csvhttps://podaac-tools.jpl.nasa.gov/drive/files/allData/rapidscat/ancillary/revtime.csv
ASCII CSV orbital revolution time tables with quality assurance information.
RapidScat Scheduled Outageshttp://manati.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/rscat_images/monitor/RapidScat_Scheduled_Outages.txt
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.
Citation RapidScat Project. 2016. RapidScat Level 2A Surface Flagged Sigma-0 and Attenuations in 12.5Km Swath Grid Version 1.3. Ver. 1.3. PO.DAAC, CA, USA. Dataset accessed [YYYY-MM-DD] at https://doi.org/10.5067/RSX12-L2A13.

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For more information see Data Citations and Acknowledgments.
Journal Reference Fore, A.G., Stiles, B.W., Chau, A.H., Williams, B.A., Dunbar, R. S., Rodriguez E., 2013: Point-wise Wind Retrieval and Ambiguity Removal Improvements for the QuikSCAT Climatological Data Set. IEEE Trans. Geoscience and Remote Sensing, doi:10.1109/TGRS.2012.2235843. [Special Note: This paper describes the wind retrieval algorithm used to process the QuikSCAT version 3 wind product. The RapidScat data was processed using the same technique.]