PODAAC-QSXXX-L3002

This dataset contains 0.25 degree gridded ocean surface wind vector fields from the NASA SeaWinds scatterometer aboard the QuikSCAT satellite platform. Gridded wind vector fields are provided twice daily daily according to the timing of the ascending and descending satellite swath coverage; where multiple swaths from a particular ascending or descending sample period intersect a given point, the the data from the most recent swath coverage over-writes the data from the earlier (adjacent) swath. Quality flags are provided for each wind vector cell to assist in identifying potential rain contamination and whether data from both inner and outer beams are available. Wind vectors are null when within 30 km of land/ice boundaries or where there are no wind vector retrievals available. Gridded wind vector fields are processed directly from the QuikSCAT Level 2B swath data which uses the QSCAT-1 geophysical model function. No additional processing to the wind vector data is applied. The SeaWinds instrument is a conical scanning pencil-beam radar, with dual-beam and dual-polarization capability, operating at Ku-band to provide all-weather ocean surface wind vector retrievals. This represents the 2nd version of the Level 3 processing. For more information on the QuikSCAT platform and mission, please visit http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/OceanWind/QuikSCAT . Disclaimer: this dataset is meant for quick-look purposes only and is not intended for science-quality research applications.