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Description

The Rongowai Level 1 Science Data Record Version 1.0 dataset is generated by the University of Auckland (UoA) Rongowai Science Payloads Operations Centre in New Zealand. This initiative is supported by NASA and the New Zealand Space Agency. The data collection process is conducted using the Next-generation receiver (NgRx) mounted on the Air New Zealand domestic aircraft Q300.

This Level 1 (L1) dataset contains the Version 1.0 geo-located Delay Doppler Maps (DDMs) calibrated into Power Received (Watts) and Bistatic Radar Cross Section (BRCS) expressed in units of meters squared from the Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument onboard an Air New Zealand domestic Q300 (tail number ZK-NFA). 20 DDMs are contained within a typical L1 netcdf corresponding to 10 Left-Hand-Circularly Polarized (LHCP) and 10 Right-Hand-Circularly Polarized (RHCP) channels. Other useful scientific and engineering measurement parameters include the co- and cross-polarized Normalized Bistatic Radar Cross Section (NBRCS) of the specular point, the Leading Edge Slope (LES) of the integrated delay waveform and the normalized waveforms. The L1 dataset contains a number of other engineering and science measurement parameters, including coherence detection and a coherence state metric, sets of quality flags/indicators, error estimates, Fresnel-zone geometry estimates (and thereby the estimated per-sample spatial resolution) as well as a variety of timekeeping, and geolocation parameters.

Each netCDF data files corresponds to a single flight between airports within New Zealand (flight durations typically range between 45 min and 1hr 30min with a median of 7 flights/day) and measurements are reported at 1 second increments. Latency is approximately 1 days (or better) from the last recorded measurement time.

Product Summary

Platforms
Airplane
Instruments
DDMI
Projects
CYGNSS
Spatial Extent

N: -34 S: -47 E: 179 W: 165

Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2022-10-20
Data Partner
Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/PODAAC)
Concept ID
C2784494745-POCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
7354
Processing Level
1
Science Keywords
WIND VELOCITY/SPEED

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Rongowai Science Payloads Operations Centre. (2023). Rongowai Level 1 Science Data Record Version 1.0 [Dataset]. NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/RGOWA-S1A10 Date Accessed: 2026-06-05

Documents

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor Offset
status_flags_one_hz One Hz status flags. These flags apply to all four DDMs. 1 indicates presence of condition. Flag masks: 4 = Aircraft point over open ocean 5 = Aircraft point over land surface <none> ubyte N/A N/A 1 N/A
surface_reflectivity 5 x 40 array of DDM reflectivity of illuminated DDM surface. db/meter2 float N/A N/A 1 N/A
surface_reflectivity_peak Peak reflectivity of the surface N/A float N/A N/A 1 N/A
sv_num The GPS unique space vehicle number that transmitted prn_code. N/A ubyte N/A N/A 1 N/A
track_id A track is a temporally contiguous series of DDMs that have the same prn_code. Each track in the file is assigned a unique track_id starting with one. track_id ranges from 1 to N, where N is the total number of tracks in the file. N/A ushort N/A N/A 1 N/A
tx_clk_bias The GPS spacecraft (sv_num) clock time minus GPS constellation time in seconds times the speed of light, in meters. meter float N/A N/A 1 N/A
tx_pos_x The X component of the GPS spacecraft WGS84 reference frame ECEF position, in meters, at ddm_timestamp_utc. Fill value is -99999999. meter double N/A N/A 1 N/A
tx_pos_y The Y component of the GPS spacecraft WGS84 reference frame ECEF position, in meters, at ddm_timestamp_utc. Fill value is -99999999. meter double N/A N/A 1 N/A
tx_pos_z The Z component of the GPS spacecraft WGS84 reference frame ECEF position, in meters, at ddm_timestamp_utc. Fill value is -99999999. meter double N/A N/A 1 N/A
tx_to_sp_range The distance between the GPS spacraft and the Specular point, in meters, at ddm_timestamp_utc. meter double N/A N/A 1 N/A
tx_vel_x The X component of the GPS spacecraft WGS84 reference frame ECEF velocity in meters, at ddm_timestamp_utc meter s-1 double N/A N/A 1 N/A
tx_vel_y The Y component of the GPS spacecraft WGS84 reference frame ECEF velocity in meters, at ddm_timestamp_utc meter s-1 double N/A N/A 1 N/A
tx_vel_z The Z component of the GPS spacecraft WGS84 reference frame ECEF velocity in meters, at ddm_timestamp_utc meter s-1 double N/A N/A 1 N/A
zenith_code_phase The NGRx-measured code phase of the direct GPS signal for prn_code interpolated to ddm_timestamp_utc. 0 <= zenith_code_phase < 1023.0. N/A float N/A N/A 1 N/A
zenith_sig_i2q2 Raw counts of detected power in direct GPS L1 C/A signal received by zenith navigation antenna and detected by navigation receiver. N/A uint N/A N/A 1 N/A
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