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/].

To Access Resource:

Questions? Email Resource Support Contact:

  • Zaihua Ji
    zji@ucar.edu
    UCAR/NCAR - Research Data Archive

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 MB
Legal Constraints

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

Resource Support Name Zaihua Ji
Resource Support Email zji@ucar.edu
Resource Support Organization UCAR/NCAR - Research Data Archive
Distributor NCAR Research Data Archive
Metadata Contact Name N/A
Metadata Contact Email rdahelp@ucar.edu
Metadata Contact Organization NCAR Research Data Archive

Author Remote Sensing Systems
Publisher Research Data Archive at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Computational and Information Systems Laboratory
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 2024-08-04T02:11:41Z
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.rda::d744003
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Remote Sensing Systems. (2000). SeaWinds QuikSCAT Scatterometer Ocean Winds from Remote Sensing Systems. Research Data Archive at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Computational and Information Systems Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.5065/RWAS-4015. Accessed 20 August 2025.

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