CYGNSS Level 2 Science Data Record wind speed

The CYGNSS Level 2 Science Data Record (version 3.1, DOI 10.5067/CYGNS-L2X31) is a NASA L2 wind speed product distributed through NASA PO.DAAC. It delivers along-track surface wind speed retrievals over tropical and sub-tropical ocean surfaces from the eight-spacecraft CYGNSS constellation.^[1][2]

CYGNSS (Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System) spacecraft use GPS signal-of-opportunity reflectometry (GNSS-R): each spacecraft receives GPS signals reflected from the ocean surface and inverts the bistatic radar cross-section to retrieve 10 m wind speed. The eight-spacecraft constellation operates at 35-degree inclination and provides a mean revisit time of approximately 7 hours between 38 degrees south and north latitude, enabling frequent sampling of tropical cyclone inner-core and outer rainband winds.^[1]

The V3.1 dataset covers the CYGNSS science operations period from 2018 onwards. Retrieved wind speeds are provided at each specular reflection point in NetCDF format, along with incidence angle, receiver gain, and quality flags. The product is open access via the NASA Earthdata portal and the PO.DAAC dataset landing page.^[1][2]