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Description

The SPURS-2 X-band marine navigation radar image dataset was collected from the ship during both the 2016 and 2017 cruises. The dataset consists of screenshots of rain echoes captured directly from the science-use X-band marine navigation radar. Raw data could not be saved. The screenshots show qualitative (uncalibrated) echoes of backscatter from rain. For full details on the screenshots, how they should be used, and what they show about rainfall, please refer to our publication: Thompson, E.J., W.E. Asher, A.T. Jessup, and K. Drushka. 2019. High-Resolution Rain Maps from an X-band Marine Radar and Their Use in Understanding Ocean Freshening. Oceanography 32(2):58–65, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2019.213 . The SPURS (Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study) project is a NASA-funded oceanographic process study and associated field program that aims to elucidate key mechanisms responsible for near-surface salinity variations in the oceans.

Product Summary

Platforms
Ships
Instruments
RADAR
Spatial Extent

N: 10.355 S: 8.927 E: -122.151 W: -129.131

Spatial Resolution
1 Meters x 1 Meters
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2017-10-21 to 2017-11-13
Data Partner
Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/PODAAC)
Concept ID
C2781659132-POCLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
15383
Processing Level
2
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
RAIN

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

Zhang, D., Thompson, E. J., & Chen, H. (2019). SPURS-2 shipboard X-band radar backscatter data for the E. Tropical Pacific field campaign [Data set]. NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/SPUR2-XBAND 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 This is radar azimuth angle relative to true north. degrees double -9999 0 to 360 1
dlat degrees lat from ship degrees double -9999 -0.2 to 0.2 1
dlon degrees lon from ship degrees double -9999 -0.2 to 0.2 1
dship_degrees degrees from ship degrees double -9999 0 to 0.3 1
dship_distance meters from ship m double -9999 0 to 25000 1
dx distance in x direction from ship m double -99999 -16000 to 16000 1
dy distance in y direction from ship m double -99999 -16000 to 16000 1
heading ship heading degrees double -9999 0 to 360 1
latitude latitude of measurement degrees_north double N/A -90 to 90 1
longitude longitude of measurement degrees_east double N/A -180 to 180 1
radar_backscatter Radr backscatter intensity (integer from 0 to 5) from X-band marine radar aboard R/V Roger Revelle 1 double -9999 0 to 5 1
ship_latitude ship latitude degrees_north double N/A -90 to 90 1
ship_longitude ship longitude degrees_east double N/A -180 to 180 1
SOG ship speed knots double -9999 0 to 15 1
time time of measurement seconds since 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z double N/A N/A 1
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