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Description

This data set includes tower-based Ka-band ocean surface backscatter measurements (cross section, incidence angle, radial velocity from radar, pulse-pair correlation) located offshore of Martha’s Vineyard (41°19.5′N, 70°34′W), Massachusetts (USA) over a period of three months, from October 2019 to January 2020. Data from the Ka-band radar are collected at multiple distances from the tower (up to ~32 m) at several incidence angles and at sub-second resolution. The measurements are provided as hourly files in netCDF format.
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Ka-band backscatter data are often utilized to derived ocean surface vector winds. The instrument used for this dataset was a Ka-Band Ocean continuous wave Doppler Scatterometer (KaBODS) built by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, which was installed on the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Air-Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT). The tower is located in 15 m deep water and extends 76 feet into the marine atmosphere. Data were collected as part of a pre-pilot campaign for the S-MODE (Submesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment) project. The measurements provided the opportunity to develop Ka-band backscatter models as well as study backscattering mechanisms under different wind, wave, and weather conditions in order to support operation of the airborne Ka-band Doppler scatterometer used during the main S-MODE intensive observation periods.

Product Summary

Platforms
FIXED OBSERVATION STATIONS
Instruments
SCATTEROMETERS
Coordinate System
GEODETIC
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2019-10-01 to 2020-01-15
Data Partner
Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/PODAAC)
Concept ID
C2162113242-POCLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
1342
Processing Level
1
Science Keywords
Radar Backscatter ,
RADIAL VELOCITY ,
SIGMA NAUGHT

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

S-MODE. (2023). S-MODE Pre-Pilot Level 1 Data from the Ka-band Ocean Doppler Scatterometer (KaBODS) at the Air-Sea Interaction Tower Version 1 [Data set]. NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/SMODE-KABODS Date Accessed: 2025-12-14

Documents

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 Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
azimuth azimuth look direction wrt north degree float N/A N/A 1
correlation pulse-pair correlation W W-1 float N/A N/A 1
negative_power negative estimated signal power N/A byte N/A N/A 1
noise_power thermal noise power dBW float N/A N/A 1
r radar range m float N/A N/A 1
rho ground distance m float N/A N/A 1
sigma0 sigma0 N/A float N/A N/A 1
signal_power signal power dBW float N/A N/A 1
theta incidence angle degree float N/A N/A 1
time UTC data collection time days since 1950-01-01 00:00:00 double N/A N/A 1
vr radial velocity from radar m s-1 float N/A N/A 1
vr_std radial velocity standard deviation m s-1 float N/A N/A 1
x ground distance for msl m double N/A N/A 1
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