This dataset consists of twelve variables for global seasonal cycles of the wind and wind stress fields estimated from the 8-year record (September 1999 - August 2007) of wind measurements by the NASA QuikSCAT scatterometer. Seasonal cycles for these variables were estimated using harmonic analysis where each multi-year time series of monthly means was fitted to a nine-parameter regression model consisting of a constant plus four harmonics.

Only monthly global maps (January - December), constructed from the annual and semiannual harmonics, for the twelve SCOW wind variables are archived here, while the regression coefficients from which the monthly values were computed, as well as example scripts, can be downloaded from SCOW web site. For researchers interested in more than just the annual and semiannual harmonics, these regression coefficients include the higher-order 3 and 4 cycles per year harmonics. The regression coefficients allow easy calculation of the seasonal cycle at each grid location at an arbitrary time interval.