New Gridded Climate Datasets for Global Climate Model Intercomparison
PO.DAAC is pleased to announce that it will distribute three gridded
satellite datasets to facilitate climate model evaluation. They include
variables for Sea Surface Temperature (SST), Absolute Dynamic Topography
(ADT), and ocean surface vector winds (http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/highlights/GriddedClimateVariables_2012_0913).
These observational datasets are on monthly 1° grids
with various time series lengths. They were generated with the initial
intention to facilitate the intercomparison of satellite derived observations
with climate model outputs from CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project
Phase 5) under the World Climate Research Program (WCRP). However,
their utility extends beyond climate model evaluation. Each climate
variable contains the data, number of observations, and the standard
deviation for each bin on the grid. Documentation and read software are
available for these datasets in the same location as the data. The
documentation explains the contents of the dataset, how it was calculated and
how the errors were calculated. All of these datasets are available via
ftp, OPeNDAP, THREDDS (see below for links), and LAS. LAS is the Live
Access Server that allows for visualization, subsetting, and cursory
analysis. LAS is located at http://thredds.jpl.nasa.gov/las
Sea Surface Temperature:
----------------------------------
The SST dataset is derived from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer
(AMSR-E) instrument onboard the NASA Aqua satellite, a passive-microwave
radiometer that sees through most clouds, and was created by Remote Sensing
Systems (http://www.ssmi.com/about_rss/about_rss.html).
The data start in July 2002 and end December 2010.
Dataset information page: http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/AMSRE_L3_SST_1DEG_1MO
Documentation: ftp://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/allData/climate_intercomparison/sst/docs/tosTechNote_AMSRE_L3_v7_200206-201012.pdf
FTP location: ftp://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/allData/climate_intercomparison/sst
OPeNDAP location: http://opendap.jpl.nasa.gov/opendap/allData/climate_intercomparison/sst
THREDDS location: http://thredds.jpl.nasa.gov/thredds/catalog/climate_intercomparison/sst/
Dynamic Topography:
----------------------------
ADT, the sea surface height relative to the geoid (the mean ocean surface of
the Earth if the ocean is at rest), is derived from TOPEX/Poseidon, Envisat,
Jason-1, and OSTM/Jason-2. This dataset was generated by AVISO (http://www.aviso.oceanobs.com/en/altimetry.html).
The data start in October 1992 and end in December 2010.
Dataset information page: http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/AVISO_L4_DYN_TOPO_1DEG_1MO
Documentation: ftp://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/allData/climate_intercomparison/dynamic_topo/docs/zosTechNote_AVISO_L4_199210-201012.pdf
FTP location: ftp://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/allData/climate_intercomparison/dynamic_topo
OPeNDAP location: http://opendap.jpl.nasa.gov/opendap/allData/climate_intercomparison/dynamic_topo
THREDDS location: http://thredds.jpl.nasa.gov/thredds/catalog/climate_intercomparison/dynamic_topo/
Ocean Surface Vector Winds:
-------------------------------------
Ocean surface vector winds are derived from the NASA QuikSCAT mission and
contain wind speed, and meridional and zonal wind vector components.
This dataset was created by the QuikSCAT project at Jet Propulsion
Laboratory. The data start in August 1999 and end in October 2009.
Dataset information pages:
http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/QSCAT_L3_SFC_WIND_SPEED_1DEG_1MO
http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/QSCAT_L3_SFC_EASTWARD_WIND_1DEG_1MO
http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/QSCAT_L3_SFC_NORTHWARD_WIND_1DEG_1MO
Documentation: ftp://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/allData/climate_intercomparison/wind/docs/
FTP location: ftp://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/allData/climate_intercomparison/wind
OPeNDAP location: http://opendap.jpl.nasa.gov/opendap/allData/climate_intercomparison/wind
THREDDS location:
http://thredds.jpl.nasa.gov/thredds/podaac_catalogs/CLIMATE_INTERCOMPARISON_WIND_catalog.html