Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

SWOT Level 2 KaRIn Low Rate Sea Surface Height Data Product - Basic, Version D

Published by NASA/JPL;NASA/JPL/PODAAC | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Catalog Last Checked: June 23, 2026 at 08:49 PM | Dataset Last Updated: June 22, 2026
The SWOT Level 2 KaRIn Low Rate Sea Surface Height Basic Data Product from the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission provides global sea surface height and significant wave height observations derived from low rate (LR) measurements from the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn). SWOT launched on December 16, 2022 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California into a 1-day repeat orbit for the "calibration" or "fast-sampling" phase of the mission, which completed in early July 2023. After the calibration phase, SWOT entered a 21-day repeat orbit in August 2023 to start the "science" phase of the mission, which is expected to continue through 2025. The L2 sea surface height data product is distributed in one netCDF-4 file per pass (half-orbit) covering the full KaRIn swath width, which spans 10-60km on each side of the nadir track. Sea surface height, sea surface height anomaly, wind speed, significant waveheight, and related parameters are provided on a geographically fixed, swath-aligned 2x2 km2 grid (Basic, Expert, Windwave). The sea surface height data are also provided on a finer 250x250 m2 "native" grid with minimal smoothing applied (Unsmoothed). This collection is a sub-collection of its parent: https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/SWOT_L2_LR_SSH_D It provides the "Basic" file from each L2 SSH product, which contains a limited set of variables and is aimed at the general user.

Resources

19 resources available

Find Related Datasets

Search by Tags

Click any tag below to search for similar datasets

Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel public
bureauCode 
[
  "026:00"
]
contactPoint 
{
  "fn": "Earthdata Forum",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:earthdata-support@nasa.gov"
}
description The SWOT Level 2 KaRIn Low Rate Sea Surface Height Basic Data Product from the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission provides global sea surface height and significant wave height observations derived from low rate (LR) measurements from the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn). SWOT launched on December 16, 2022 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California into a 1-day repeat orbit for the "calibration" or "fast-sampling" phase of the mission, which completed in early July 2023. After the calibration phase, SWOT entered a 21-day repeat orbit in August 2023 to start the "science" phase of the mission, which is expected to continue through 2025. The L2 sea surface height data product is distributed in one netCDF-4 file per pass (half-orbit) covering the full KaRIn swath width, which spans 10-60km on each side of the nadir track. Sea surface height, sea surface height anomaly, wind speed, significant waveheight, and related parameters are provided on a geographically fixed, swath-aligned 2x2 km2 grid (Basic, Expert, Windwave). The sea surface height data are also provided on a finer 250x250 m2 "native" grid with minimal smoothing applied (Unsmoothed). This collection is a sub-collection of its parent: https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/SWOT_L2_LR_SSH_D It provides the "Basic" file from each L2 SSH product, which contains a limited set of variables and is aimed at the general user.
distribution 
[
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Original Metadata",
    "format": "ISO",
    "mediaType": "text/xml",
    "conformsTo": "http://www.isotc211.org/2005/gmi",
    "description": "The metadata's original source.",
    "downloadURL": "https://cmr.earthdata.nasa.gov/search/concepts/C3233942270-POCLOUD.iso19115"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://archive.podaac.earthdata.nasa.gov/podaac-ops-cumulus-docs/web-misc/swot_mission_docs/D-109532_SWOT_UserHandbook_RevA_20250311_sig-final.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://archive.podaac.earthdata.nasa.gov/podaac-ops-cumulus-docs/web-misc/swot_mission_docs/SWOT_VersionD_KaRIn_Products_Release_Note_20250423b.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://archive.podaac.earthdata.nasa.gov/podaac-ops-cumulus-docs/web-misc/swot_mission_docs/atbd/D-105502_SWOT_ATBD_L2_LR_SSH_20230724a_cite.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://archive.podaac.earthdata.nasa.gov/podaac-ops-cumulus-docs/web-misc/swot_mission_docs/pdd/D-56407_SWOT_Product_Description_L2_LR_SSH_20250224a_RevC_clean_sig.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "JSON",
    "mediaType": "application/json",
    "downloadURL": "https://archive.podaac.earthdata.nasa.gov/podaac-ops-cumulus-public/virtual_collections/SWOT_L2_LR_SSH_Basic_D/SWOT_L2_LR_SSH_Basic_D_virtual_https.json"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "JSON",
    "mediaType": "application/json",
    "downloadURL": "https://archive.podaac.earthdata.nasa.gov/podaac-ops-cumulus-public/virtual_collections/SWOT_L2_LR_SSH_Basic_D/SWOT_L2_LR_SSH_Basic_D_virtual_s3.json"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://cmr.earthdata.nasa.gov/virtual-directory/collections/C3233942270-POCLOUD"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://github.com/podaac/data-subscriber"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://harmony.earthdata.nasa.gov/"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://opendap.earthdata.nasa.gov"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/CitingPODAAC"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "JPEG",
    "mediaType": "image/jpeg",
    "downloadURL": "https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/Podaac/thumbnails/SWOT_L2_LR_SSH_D.jpg"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/swot"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://search.earthdata.nasa.gov/search/granules?p=C3233942270-POCLOUD"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://swot.jpl.nasa.gov"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "HTML",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "downloadURL": "https://www.aviso.altimetry.fr/en/missions/current-missions/swot.html"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/surface-water-and-ocean-topography-swot"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://www.nasa.gov/swot"
  }
]
identifier 10.5067/SWOT-SSH-D
keyword 
[
  "earth-science-ocean-waves-oceans-significant-wave-height",
  "earth-science-sea-surface-topography-oceans-sea-surface-height"
]
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-06-22
programCode 
[
  "026:000"
]
publisher 
{
  "name": "NASA/JPL;NASA/JPL/PODAAC",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
spatial 
"["CARTESIAN", [{"NorthBoundingCoordinate": 90, "WestBoundingCoordinate": -180, "EastBoundingCoordinate": 180, "SouthBoundingCoordinate": -90}]]"
theme 
[
  "Earth Science"
]
title SWOT Level 2 KaRIn Low Rate Sea Surface Height Data Product - Basic, Version D

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov