Frequently asked question (FAQ)

Data

In the mean wind fields (MWF/WOCE product), when recomputing the module from the zonal and meridional components, the result is not equivalent to the module provided within the product : Why?

The mean(zonal^2+meridional^2) is not equivalent to (mean(zonal)^2+mean(meridional)^2). The same principle applies to the kriging method, the objective interpolation used to estimate the mean wind fields, so components and module are computed separetly. Otherwise, the wind module would be generally underestimated.

They are no wind data (WNF or mean wind fields) from ERS-2 scatterometer after January 2001 : Why?

The wind vectors are retrieved from ERS-2 scatterometer. The failure of some gyroscopes onboard ERS-2 platform caused the satellite to run in a coarse attitude control mode. As a consequence, scatterometer data products are not calibrated anymore and not distributed to users. A re-design of the scatterometer data processor by ESA shall be performed to restore the initial data quality. This reprocessing is not planned yet.

Formats

What is the CCSDS format used for OPR and WNF products?

Refer to the CCSDS related information page.

What is the CEOS format used for OPR product?

Refer to the CEOS related information page.

What is the HDF format?

Refer to the HDF related information page.

What is the NetCDF format?

Refer to the NetCDF related information page.