RapidScat Level 2B Ocean Wind Vectors in 12.5km Slice Composites Version 1.3
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| DOI | 10.5067/RSX12-L2B13 |
| Short Name | RSCAT_LEVEL_2B_OWV_COMP_12_V1.3 |
| 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/. |
| Version | 1.3 |
| Dataset Type | OPEN |
| Measurement | OCEANS > OCEAN WINDS > SURFACE WINDS > OCEAN SURFACE WIND VECTORS |
| Processing Level | 2 |
| Coverage | Region: 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 |
| Resolution | Spatial Resolution: 12.5 km (Along) x 12.5 km (Across) |
| Projection | Type: Swath Detail: Along-track Grid Ellipsoid: WGS 84 |
| Latency | hours |
| Swath Width | 9 m |
| Sample Frequency | 89 |
| 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. |
| Project | International Space Station Rapid Scatterometer (ISS_RapidScat) |
| Data Provider | Creator: 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, wind, ocean, ocean wind, ocean winds, ocean surface wind vectors, surface wind vectors, wind speed, wind direction, scatterometer, quikscat, seawinds, l2b, l2, level 2, level 2b, version 1, v1, version 1.3, v1.3, V1.3, 1.3 |
| Persistent ID | PODAAC-RSX12-L2B13 |
Questions related to this dataset? Contact podaac@podaac.jpl.nasa.gov
| PO.DAAC DRIVE | https://podaac-tools.jpl.nasa.gov/drive/files/allData/rapidscat/L2B12/v1.3 |
| OPENDAP | https://podaac-opendap.jpl.nasa.gov/opendap/allData/rapidscat/L2B12/v1.3/ |
| Format (Compression) | NETCDF (GZIP) |
| Read Software | |
| IDL | https://podaac-tools.jpl.nasa.gov/drive/files/allData/rapidscat/L2B12/sw/IDL Generic netCDF Reader |
| R | https://podaac-tools.jpl.nasa.gov/drive/files/allData/rapidscat/L2B12/sw/R Generic netCDF Reader |
| Python | https://podaac-tools.jpl.nasa.gov/drive/files/allData/rapidscat/L2B12/sw/Python Generic netCDF Reader |
| MATLAB | https://podaac-tools.jpl.nasa.gov/drive/files/allData/rapidscat/L2B12/sw/MATLAB Generic netCDF Reader |
| User's Guide | |
| RapidScat L2B NetCDF Guide Document | https://podaac-tools.jpl.nasa.gov/drive/files/allData/rapidscat/L2B12/docs/rscat_l2b_user_guide_v1.pdf User Guide |
| Project Materials | |
| ISS-RapidScat Mission Information Page | https://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/RapidScat/ Website providing more detailed information about the ISS-RapidScat Mission. |
| ISS-RapidScat Fact Sheet | http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact_sheets/issrapidscat_factsheet.pdf Summary of Facts on the ISS-RapidScat Mission |
| Additional Sites | |
| eoPortal Directory for ISS-RapidScat | https://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.csv | https://podaac-tools.jpl.nasa.gov/drive/files/allData/rapidscat/ancillary/revtime.csv ASCII CSV orbital revolution time tables with quality assurance information. |
| RapidScat Scheduled Outages | http://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 2B Ocean Wind Vectors in 12.5km Slice Composites Version 1.3. Ver. 1.3. PO.DAAC, CA, USA. Dataset accessed [YYYY-MM-DD] at https://doi.org/10.5067/RSX12-L2B13.
For more information see Data Citations and Acknowledgments.
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| 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.] | |||||||
