The PO.DAAC has made available the extended archive of Level-2 (swath-based) ASCAT ocean wind vector datasets produced by the KNMI/EUMETSAT Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF). The datasets provide near real-time (NRT) ocean surface vector wind retrievals at different sampling pixel resolutions: 12.5 km and 25 km. The 25 km dataset now extends back to March 28, 2007; the 12.5 km dataset extends back to March 3, 2009. Both datasets are available in NetCDF format. ASCAT is a real aperture radar operating at 5.255 GHz (C-band) and uses vertically polarized antennas in a dual fan beam configuration to provide 70% global coverage each day over the ice free oceans. It is flown on the EUMETSAT MetOp-A satellite. The prime objective of ASCAT is to measure vector wind over the ocean's surface. Scatterometer data has also proved to be very useful in a variety of studies including polar ice and soil moisture.

The ASCAT datasets are being distributed as "Preview". This means that although significant validation efforts have been made by KNMI/EUMETSAT, the data continue to undergo scientific evaluation and may receive periodic adjustments and updates accordingly. As part of the data evaluation phase, all ASCAT data users are encouraged to provide feedback.

Since this is an operational NRT dataset, it is important to remind users that there have been and will continue to be a number of incremental changes and improvements to the wind retrieval algorithm. Therefore, users should be mindful about this issue if the data are used for climate-related studies. A history of these modifications has been made available here: http://www.knmi.nl/scatterometer/ascat_osi_25_prod/ascat_app.cgi#modifications.

If you wish to access and read more about the ASCAT datasets, please visit our ASCAT web portal: http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/DATA_CATALOG/ascatinfo.html

Should you have any questions or wish to provide feedback on the ASCAT datasets, please contact us at: podaac@podaac.jpl.nasa.gov




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