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RapidScat Level 1B Time-Ordered Geo-Located Sigma-0 Version 2.0

Metadata Updated: April 9, 2026

This dataset contains the ISS-RapidScat Version 2.0 Level 1B geo-located Sigma-0 measurements and antenna pulse "egg" and "slice" geometries as derived from ephemeris and the Level 1A dataset. The pulse "egg" represents the complete footprint of the pulse, which has a spatial geometry of approximately 25 km by 35 km. There are 8 slices that constitute the range-binned components of a pulse each of which has a spatial geometry of approximately 25 km by 7 km. The orientation of the long dimension of the slices varies with the rotation of the antenna and thus does not align with the along/across track orientation of the wind vector grid in the L2B/L2A products. Version 2.0 represents a complete historical re-processing of the L1B data record and provides a calibration which is consistent across the several signal to noise ratio states experienced by RapidScat throughout its operation period (see the technical note for Version 2.0 under Documentation). The Version 2.0 is also the dataset used to derive the Version 2.0 wind products (L2B). Data are provided in single-orbit files in HDF-4 format. This dataset is intended for expert use only. If you must use RapidScat Sigma-0 data but you are unsure about how to use the L1B data record, please consider using either of the following L2A datasets: 1) https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/RSCAT_L2A_25KM_V2.0 or 2) https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/RSCAT_L2A_12KM_V2.0. RapidScat is a Ku-band dual beam circular rotating scatterometer retaining much of the same hardware and functionality of QuikSCAT, with exception of the antenna sub-system and digital interface to the ISS Columbus module, which is where RapidScat is mounted. The NASA mission is officially referred to as ISS-RapidScat. Unlike QuikSCAT, ISS-RapidScat is not in sun-synchronous orbit, and flies at roughly half the altitude with a low inclination angle that restricts data coverage to the tropics and mid-latitude regions; the extent of latitudinal coverage stretches from approximately 61 degrees North to 61 degrees South. Furthermore, there is no consistent local time of day retrieval.

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 9, 2026

Metadata Source

Harvested from NASA Data.json

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date April 9, 2026
Publisher NASA/JPL/PODAAC
Maintainer
Identifier 10.5067/RSCAT-L1B20
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 deba0fae-f633-4a40-b9e6-b3a36850f868
Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
License https://www.usa.gov/government-works
Old Spatial "CARTESIAN",{"WestBoundingCoordinate":-180,"SouthBoundingCoordinate":-61,"EastBoundingCoordinate":180,"NorthBoundingCoordinate":61}
Program Code 026:000
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash b7a4335b71e6db9baca518f0a7ca4e1f32f3b6930fb840287f897b2e987e6856
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial
Temporal 2014-10-03/2016-08-19

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