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Instrument details
Acronym
SCAT (CFOSAT)
Full name
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 ≥2022
Last update:
2021-06-15
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 Scatterometer [in SSO]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives Wind speed (near surface) Wind vector (near surface) Opportunity objectives Leaf Area Index (LAI) Sea-ice type Snow cover Snow status (wet/dry) Snow water equivalent Soil moisture at surface Show all Show fewer
Tentative 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
Variable Relevance for measuring this variable Operational limitations Explanation
Leaf Area Index (LAI) 4 - fair Coarse spatial resolution. Ku-band scatterometer sensitive to LAI
Sea-ice type 1 - primary No specific limitation. Scatterometer, Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz). Type interpreted as age/roughness
Snow cover 3 - high Coarse spatial resolution.. Thick snow only. Scatterometer in Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz)
Snow status (wet/dry) 3 - high Coarse spatial resolution.. Thick snow only. Scatterometer in Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz)
Snow water equivalent 5 - marginal Coarse spatial resolution.. Ground stations network needed. Scatterometer in Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz)
Soil moisture at surface 3 - high Coarse spatial resolution.. Strongly affected by vegetation. Scatterometer in Ku-band (around 13.3 GHz)
Wind speed (near surface) 1 - primary Over sea only. Ku-band scatterometer around 13.3 GHz
Wind vector (near surface) 2 - very high Over sea only. Ku-band scatterometer around 13.3 GHz
Instrument: SCAT (CFOSAT)