QSCAT-R Dataset | About the QSCAT-R Dataset

About the QSCAT-R Dataset

The third phase of this project constructed a new dataset of tropical cyclone size and radial structure based on data from the QuikSCAT satellite. The dataset is calculated from the latest version of the QuikSCAT near-surface ocean wind vector database, developed by researchers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), optimized specifically for improved accuracy at high wind speeds within tropical cyclones. The QSCAT-R dataset adds value to the raw data by extracting radial profiles of wind and precipitation as well as canonical wind radii values in a simple, user-friendly format.

This dataset was created by Dr. Daniel Chavas while he was an NSF AGS Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University. Dr. Chavas derived an initial version of the dataset during his doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This new dataset improves on its predecessor by exploiting recent advances in methodologies for both wind vector retrieval and radial structure estimation. Furthermore, in addition to basic size parameters, this dataset provides the user with the raw radial wind profile data to support a wider range of potential research needs and objectives.

The QSCAT-R Dataset is now available to the public for a wide variety of academic, educational, research, and commercial uses.

Navigate this section

Use the links below to learn more about the data sources that have gone into this dataset, to download the combined dataset and accompanying documentation, and to learn more about applications of this dataset.

This page was last updated 23 December 2015 by Daniel Chavas.

What's New in the QSCAT-R Dataset?

23 December 2015

The QSCAT-R Dataset is now available to the public for a wide variety of academic, educational, research, and commecial uses. To download the dataset, click here.

Past Updates

01 September 2015

A new paper has been published that uses the QSCAT-R Dataset. This paper serves as the primary scientific reference for the dataset.

Chavas, D. R, N. Lin, and K. A. Emanuel, 2015: A model for the complete radial structure of the tropical cyclone wind field. Part I: Comparison with observed structure. J. Atmos. Sci., 72, 3647-3662, doi:10.1175/JAS-D-15-0014.1.

08 December 2014

Technical documentation for the QSCAT-R Dataset has been published as an NCAR Technical Note:

Chavas, D. R. and J. L. Vigh., 2015: QSCAT-R+: The QuikSCAT Tropical Cyclone Radial Profile Dataset: Wind radii and radial profiles of wind and rain for tropical cyclones globally, 1999-2009. NCAR Technical Note NCAR/TN-513+STR, 25 pp, doi:10.5065/D6J67DZ4. (pdf)

28 August 2014

The QSCAT-R Dataset was released to the RPI member companies. It will be available only to the RPI member companies during the embargo period, which should end in 2015 when the dataset is released to the public.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.