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.  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.

To Access Resource:

Questions? Email Resource Support Contact:

  • datahelp@ucar.edu

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 N/A
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 2025-10-09T01:29:19Z
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 12 October 2025.

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