QuikScat Views the Earth: BYU QuikScat Data Products

This page contains an introduction to BYU QuikScat data produts, documentation, and the software to read them. Links to download selected data are provided. Additional animated images are available from the QuikScat Movie page.

The BYU Microwave Earth Remote Sensing (MERS) Laboratory, under the direction of Dr. David Long, is planning to produce and distribute a number of standard QuikScat products for land/ice studies including:

• Global sigma-0 browse products: daily average sigma-0 values on low resolution global and polar stereographic grids.
  • General Documentaion
    • postscript (965K)
    • pdf (208K)
  • Software (SIR readers)
  • FAQ
  • Data animations*:
    Global: (4.5 MB .avi), (1.5 MB QuickTime .mov)
    Northern Hemisphere: (5.8 MB .avi)
    Southern Hemisphere: (5.6 MB .avi)
• Enhanced resolution sigma-0 image products: a suite of sigma-0 image and auxilary products produced at high resolution. Global high resolution (2.225 km and 4.45 km pixel) and low resolution (24 km) products are produced in a variety of projectsion. Polar products are produced daily with other regions produced somewhat less frequently.
  • General Documentaion
    • postscript (441K)
    • pdf (269K)
  • Software (SIR readers)
  • FAQ
  • Data animations* showing the movement of icebergs in Antarctica: Antarctica (4.2 MB .avi)
• Ice extent/edge maps: daily maps derived from enhanced resolution polar images.
  • General Documentaion (TBD - Masked SIR A files and ASCII files of lat/lon)
    • Introduction (in mask and edge)
    • Readme (in mask and edge)
  • Sample data (in mask and edge)
  • Software (SIR readers)
  • Data animation*:
    Antarctic: JD 1999.200-266 (366K .mpeg), JD 1999.200-350 (1MB .avi), JD 1999.200-350 (1.25MB .mov)
    JD 1999.200-2000.037 (2.4 MB mpeg .m1v), JD 1999.200-2000.037 (11 MB .avi), JD 1999.200-2000.037 (4.45 MB Quiktime .mov)
    Arctic: JD1999.206-2000.036 (16.2 MB animated gif), (8.3 MB avi), (2.3 MB mpeg .m1v), (2.3 MB QuikTime .mov),
  • Special products (TBD)

These products are describe in more detail in the documentation available through the links. Most of the products are produced in the BYU .SIR file format. Reader and view software for the file format are availble as are sample products. Data distribution is through anonymous ftp and "pushed" ftp. Please contact Dr. Long for details.

* note that all the animations are reduced in image size and quality to make it practical to download and view them in a reasonable amount of time.