BackForwardInstrument:  CSCAT 

Instrument details
Acronym CSCAT
Full name CFOSAT Scatterometer
Purpose Sea-surface vector wind.
Short description

Rotating Fan-beam Scatterometer (RFSCAT). Ku-band (13.256 GHz), dual polarisation (HH and VV).
Background

New development,
Scanning Technique

Combining the fan-pencil concept (such as, e.g., ASCAT) and the rotating concept (such as, e.g., WindSat). Rotating speed: 5.7 rpm; swath 1000 km. Duty cycle 15-35 %.
Resolution High quality data: 50 km. Basic sampling: 10 km.
Coverage / Cycle Global in one week.
Mass Power Data Rate 220 kbps

 

Providing Agency CNSA
Instrument Maturity
Utilization Period: 2019 to 2038
Last update: 2024-11-18
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Active and radio-occultation sensor
  • Scatterometer
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • Scatterometers [in SSO]
  • Scatterometer [in SSO]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Wind speed (near surface)
  • Wind vector (near surface)
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Leaf Area Index (LAI)4 - fairCoarse spatial resolution.Ku-band scatterometer sensitive to LAI
Sea-ice type1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Scatterometer, Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz). Type interpreted as age/roughness
Snow cover3 - highCoarse spatial resolution.. Thick snow only.Scatterometer in Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz)
Snow status (wet/dry)3 - highCoarse spatial resolution.. Thick snow only.Scatterometer in Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz)
Snow water equivalent5 - marginalCoarse spatial resolution.. Ground stations network needed.Scatterometer in Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz)
Soil moisture at surface3 - highCoarse spatial resolution.. Strongly affected by vegetation.Scatterometer in Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz)
Wind speed (near surface)*1 - primaryOver sea only.Ku-band scatterometer around 13.3 GHz
Wind vector (near surface)*2 - very highOver sea only.Ku-band scatterometer around 13.3 GHz