N: 40 S: -40 E: 180 W: -180
Description
This dataset contains the Version 1.0 CYGNSS Level 2 Ocean Surface Heat Flux Science Data Record, which provides the time-tagged and geolocated ocean surface heat flux parameters with 25x25 kilometer footprint resolution from the Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument (DDMI) aboard the CYGNSS satellite constellation. The reported sample locations are determined by the specular points corresponding to the Delay Doppler Maps (DDMs). Only one netCDF-4 data file is produced each day (each file containing data from a combination of up to 8 unique CYGNSS spacecraft) with a latency of approximately 1 to 2 months from the last recorded measurement time. Version 1.0 represents the first release. The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS), launched on 15 December 2016, is a NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder Mission that was launched with the purpose to collect the first frequent space-based measurements of surface wind speeds in the inner core of tropical cyclones. Made up of a constellation of eight micro-satellites, the CYGNSS observatories provide nearly gap-free Earth coverage with a mean (i.e., average) revisit time of seven hours and a median revisit time of three hours. The 35 degree orbital inclination allows CYGNSS to measure ocean surface winds between approximately 38 degrees North and 38 degrees South latitude using an innovative combination of all-weather performance Global Positioning System (GPS) L-band ocean surface reflectometry to penetrate the clouds and heavy precipitation. The Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) algorithm is what is used in this dataset to estimate the latent and sensible heat fluxes and their respective transfer coefficients. While COARE's initial intentions were for low to moderate wind speeds, the version used for this product, COARE 3.5, has been verified with direct in situ flux measurements for wind speeds up to 25 m/s. As CYGNSS does not provide air/sea temperature, humidity, surface pressure or density, the producer of this dataset obtains these values from the NASA Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA-2), which uses data assimilation to combine all available in situ and satellite observation data with an initial estimate of the atmospheric state, provided by a global atmospheric model. Since the MERRA-2 data is only updated on monthly intervals, this corresponding heat flux dataset is likewise updated on a monthly interval to reflect the latest data available from MERRA-2, thus accounting for measurement latency, with respect to CYGNSS observables, ranging from 1 to 2 months. The data from this release compares well with in situ buoy data, including: Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO), National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), Ocean Sustained Interdisciplinary Time-series Environment observation System (OceanSITES), Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic (PIRATA), Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA), and the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) array. As this marks only the first data release, future work is expected to provide comparisons and validation with various field campaigns (e.g., PISTON, CAMP2Ex) as well as more buoy data, especially at higher flux estimates.
Product Summary
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Variables
Variables are a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior of something. For example, temperature and pressure are variables of the atmosphere. Parameters and variables can be used interchangeably. Variable level attributes provide individual information for each variable.
The Name in this table is the variable name. Fill value indicates missing or undefined data points in a variable. Valid range is the range of values the variable can store. Scale factor is used to increase or decrease the size of an object and can be used to correct for distortion. For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.
| Name Sort descending | Description | Units | Data Type | Fill Value | Valid Range | Scale Factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| air_density | Air density at surface received from the MERRA-2 variable 'RHOA' | kg m-3 | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| air_temperature | 10 meter air temperature received from the MERRA-2 variable 'T10M' | K | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| cygnss_l2_sample_index | A sample index for the corresponding CYGNSS L2 sample index used for deriving the heat fluxes. This can be used with 'source' to look up the CYGNSS L2 data and metadata. | N/A | int | N/A | N/A | 1 |
| effective_surface_humidity | Effective surface specific humidity received from the MERRA-2 variable 'QSH' | kg kg-1 | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| lat | The latitude of the heat fluxes. | degrees_north | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| lhf | The latent heat flux estimates at each specular point using the CYGNSS Level-2 wind_speed FDS minimum variance product. | W m-2 | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| lhf_uncertainty | Standard deviation of the additive latent heat flux error, based on known and reported uncertainties from CYGNSS L2 FDS winds, and MERRA-2 temperature and humidity. Dependent on lhf, in W m-2. | W m-2 | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| lhf_yslf | The latent heat flux estimates at each specular point using the CYGNSS Level-2 YSLF NBRCS product. | W m-2 | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| lhf_yslf_uncertainty | Standard deviation of the additive latent heat flux error, based on known and reported uncertainties from CYGNSS L2 YSLF winds, and MERRA-2 temperature and humidity. Dependent on lhf_YSLF, in W m-2. | W m-2 | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| lon | The longitude of the heat fluxes | degrees_east | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| prn_code | The PRN code of the GPS signal associated with the DDMs utilized to derive heat fluxes. Ranges from 0 to 32. 0 = reflectometry channel idle. 1 to 32 represent a PRN code. | 1 | byte | -99 | N/A | 1 |
| quality_flags | Set of status flags, set to 1 if condition is true. Flag bit masks: 1 = poor_overall_quality: The logical OR of the following flags. If any one of the following flags are set then poor_overall_quality will be set: low_quality_gps_ant_knowledge OR low_range_corrected_gain OR cygnss_l2_fatal_flag OR low_fds_wind_speed OR low_yslf_nbrcs_wind_speed OR high_fds_wind_speed OR high_yslf_nbrcs_wind_speed 2 = low_quality_gps_ant_knowledge, The directional gain pattern of the GPS transmit antenna, and hence the value of its gain in the direction of the specular point, is less well known for block type II-F GPS satellites. 4 = low_range_corrected_gain, Range corrected gain is less than 3 8 = ascending_satellite, satellite is on the ascending node of the orbit (subsatellite point latitude is increasing) 16 = cygnss_l2_fatal_flag, CYGNSS Level-2 FDS sample flag is set to fatal 32 = low_fds_wind_speed, CYGNSS Level-2 FDS wind speed < 0 m/s 64 = low_yslf_nbrcs_wind_speed, CYGNSS Level-2 YSLF NBRCS wind speed < 0 m/s 128 = high_fds_wind_speed, CYGNSS Level-2 FDS wind speed > 25 m/s 256 = high_yslf_nbrcs_wind_speed, CYGNSS Level-2 YSLF NBRCS wind speed > 25 m/s | N/A | short | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| sample | The netCDF coordinate variable associated with the sample dimension, which enumerates the zero-justified index range of the DDM time instants contained in the file. | 1 | int | N/A | N/A | 1 |
| sample_time | The mean of ddm_timestamp_utc of the DDMs that were utilized to derive the heat fluxes. Note that the DDM sampling period is not synchronized with the UTC change of second so sample_time can occur at any time relative to the UTC change of second. | seconds since 2017-03-18 00:00:00.999 | double | N/A | N/A | 1 |
| shf | The sensible heat flux estimates at each specular point using the CYGNSS Level-2 wind_speed FDS minimum variance product. | W m-2 | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| shf_uncertainty | Standard deviation of the additive sensible heat flux error, based on known and reported uncertainties from CYGNSS L2 FDS winds, and MERRA-2 temperature and humidity. Dependent on shf, in W m-2. | W m-2 | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| shf_yslf | The sensible heat flux estimates at each specular point using the CYGNSS Level-2 YSLF NBRCS product. | W m-2 | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| shf_yslf_uncertainty | Standard deviation of the additive sensible heat flux error, based on known and reported uncertainties from CYGNSS L2 YSLF winds, and MERRA-2 temperature and humidity. Dependent on shf_yslf, in W m-2. | W m-2 | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| spacecraft_id | The CCSDS spacecraft identifier: 0xF7 (247): CYGNSS 1 0xF9 (249): CYGNSS 2 0x2B ( 43): CYGNSS 3 0x2C ( 44): CYGNSS 4 0x2F ( 47): CYGNSS 5 0x36 ( 54): CYGNSS 6 0x37 ( 55): CYGNSS 7 0x49 ( 73): CYGNSS 8 0x00 ( 0): end to end simulator 0x0E ( 14): engineering model 0x0D ( 15): default 0xFF (255): unknown | 1 | short | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| spacecraft_num | The CYGNSS spacecraft number: Ranges from 1 through 8 and 99. 1 through 8 are on-orbit spacecraft. 99 is the CYGNSS end-to-end simulator. | 1 | byte | -99 | N/A | 1 |
| specific_humidity | 10 meter specific humidityreceived from the MERRA-2 variable 'QV10M' | kg kg-1 | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| surface_pressure | Surface pressure received from the MERRA-2 variable 'PS' | Pa | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |
| surface_skin_temperature | Surface skin temperature received from the MERRA-2 variable 'TS' | K | float | -9999 | N/A | 1 |