SeaWinds QuikSCAT Scatterometer Ocean Winds from Remote Sensing Systems

The SeaWinds instrument on the QuikSCAT satellite is a specialized radar that measures near-surface wind speed and direction at a 25 km resolution. This instrument has been measuring winds over approximately 90% of the ice-free ocean since 19 July 1999. These data were prepared by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS). A new geophysical model function, called Ku-2001, was used in this version of the dataset and is considered an improvement over the earlier Ku-2000 and the old NSCAT-2 functions because of more accurate retrievals of high winds (greater than 30 m/s). The dataset time series ends in June 2002, however, continuing data are available from RSS.

Many more details concerning the Ku-2001 data are available from the RSS website [http://www.remss.com/]. These data are also directly available from RSS.

Notice 07/28/2006: JPL PO.DAAC has initiated reprocessing of all ADEOS-II and QuikSCAT data with superior algorithms for retrievals in high wind speed and light rain areas. This reprocessing could effect this dataset. More information is available at JPL PO.DAAC [http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/].

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Questions? Email Resource Support Contact:

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Temporal Range

  • Begin:  1999-07
    End:  2009-04

Keywords

Resource Type dataset
Temporal Range Begin 1999-07
Temporal Range End 2009-04
Temporal Resolution N/A
Bounding Box North Lat N/A
Bounding Box South Lat N/A
Bounding Box West Long N/A
Bounding Box East Long N/A
Spatial Representation N/A
Spatial Resolution N/A
Related Links

Related Resource #1 : Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) web site

Related Resource #2 : JPL PO.DAAC
Additional Information N/A
Resource Format Binary
Standardized Resource Format Binary
Asset Size 55567.398 MB
Legal Constraints

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Access Constraints None
Software Implementation Language N/A

Resource Support Name N/A
Resource Support Email datahelp@ucar.edu
Resource Support Organization
Distributor NSF NCAR Geoscience Data Exchange

Metadata Contact Name N/A
Metadata Contact Email datahelp@ucar.edu
Metadata Contact Organization NSF NCAR Geoscience Data Exchange

Author Remote Sensing Systems
Publisher NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research

Publication Date 2000-10-05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) https://doi.org/10.5065/RWAS-4015
Alternate Identifier d744003
Resource Version N/A
Topic Category oceans
Progress completed
Metadata Date 2026-02-26T00:07:24Z
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.gdex::d744003
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Remote Sensing Systems. (2000). SeaWinds QuikSCAT Scatterometer Ocean Winds from Remote Sensing Systems. NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research. https://doi.org/10.5065/RWAS-4015. Accessed 27 February 2026.

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