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    • CYGNSS Level 2 Science Data Record Version 2.1

    Metadata Updated: April 10, 2026

    This dataset contains the Version 2.1 CYGNSS Level 2 Science Data Record which provides the time-tagged and geolocated average wind speed (m/s) and mean square slope (MSS) with 25x25 kilometer resolution from the Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument aboard the CYGNSS satellite constellation. This version supersedes Version 2.0. The reported sample locations are determined by the specular points corresponding to the Delay Doppler Maps (DDMs). A subset of DDM data used in the direct processing of the average wind speed and MSS is co-located inside of the Level 2 data files. Only one netCDF data file is produced each day (each file containing data from up to 8 unique CYGNSS spacecraft) with a latency of approximately 6 days (or better) from the last recorded measurement time. The Version 2.1 release represents the second science-quality release. Here is a summary of improvements that reflect the quality of the Version 2.1 data release: 1) revised Geophysical Model Functions (GMFs) for both Fully Developed Seas (FDS) and Young Seas with Limited Fetch conditions, to be consistent with the calibration changes made to the v2.1 Level 1 science data products.; 2) Revised covariance matrix between DDMA and LES versions of the FDS wind speed retrieval, used by the minimum variance estimator, resulting from changes made to the v2.1 Level 1 science data products; 3) Revised debiasing algorithm coefficients used by the FDS L2 retrieval algorithm, resulting from changes made to the v2.1 Level 2 science data products; 4) revised quality control (Q/C) flags related to the required level of consistency between DDMA and LES versions of the FDS wind speed retrieval (the errors in the two retrievals are now less correlated so larger discrepancies are allowed; if either retrieval is not available, the sample receives a fatal Q/C flag); 5) new Q/C flag related to the block type of the GPS satellite which provided the transmitted signal. Samples using block II-F signals receive a fatal Q/C flag due to the higher level of uncertainty in their radiated power; 6) revised wind speed uncertainty values as a function of RCG and wind speed, plus a new dependence of the uncertainty on GPS block type to reflect the higher uncertainty in GPS radiated power for block II-F satellites.

    Access & Use Information

    Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: See this page for license information.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date April 10, 2026

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NASA Data.json

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date April 10, 2026
    Publisher NASA/JPL/PODAAC;NASA/ESSP/UMICH/CYGNSS
    Maintainer
    Identifier 10.5067/CYGNS-L2X21
    Data Last Modified 2026-04-06
    Category Earth Science
    Public Access Level public
    Bureau Code 026:00
    Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
    Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
    Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
    Harvest Object Id ade85ae4-4352-4761-a965-edf998861591
    Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
    Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
    License https://www.usa.gov/government-works
    Old Spatial "CARTESIAN",{"NorthBoundingCoordinate":40.0,"WestBoundingCoordinate":-180.0,"EastBoundingCoordinate":180.0,"SouthBoundingCoordinate":-40.0}
    Program Code 026:000
    Source Datajson Identifier True
    Source Hash 12da52740d349663615297a5c6b83a6dd4055347792b8fb8be2d54cc3f0cd261
    Source Schema Version 1.1
    Spatial
    Temporal 2017-03-18/2026-03-30

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