OSCAR

OSCAR, Ocean Surface Current Analyses Real-time, is a diagnostic global surface-current product on a 0.25 degree grid covering 1993 to present, produced by Earth and Space Research and archived at NASA PO.DAAC. It computes near-surface velocity, averaged over the top about 30 m, from satellite sea-surface-height gradients, ocean vector winds, and SST gradients using a simplified model that combines geostrophy, Ekman flow, and thermal-wind dynamics. It is issued in final, interim, and near-real-time streams with latencies of about one year, one month, and two days, and supports current mapping for navigation and ENSO work.