“You have to believe in something; I believe I'll have a beer.”

OSCAR Ocean Current Data by Email

Started 2013-02-10 13:50:39 with Queries Performed: 9678 totaling 944.28 MB

Quick start

Email query@svsarana.com with a blank subject and put this request in the message body:

oscar:20N,10N,130W,120W

The reply normally arrives in 30–60 seconds with a GRIB file attached - CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDERS.

Service status: The OSCAR email service was restored in 2025 and is accepting GRIB requests again. The data is most useful offshore; modeled currents do not extend precisely to the shoreline.

Build and send an OSCAR request

A request defines a rectangular area using its northern, southern, western, and eastern boundaries:

oscar:north,south,west,east
PartExampleMeaning
north20NNorthern latitude
south10NSouthern latitude
west130WWestern longitude
east120WEastern longitude
  1. Choose the latitude and longitude boundaries for your area.
  2. Email query@svsarana.com with a blank subject.
  3. Put one complete oscar: command in the message body.
  4. Open the attached .grb file in a viewer that supports ocean currents.
Latitude and longitude map example

The highlighted box illustrates how four coordinates select a rectangular region.

World map showing a latitude and longitude request box

Automatic email response

The response includes the source and update time of the extracted data. The requested GRIB file is attached.

OSCAR2.0 (Ocean Surface Current Analysis Near Real-Time) contains near-surface ocean current estimates, derived using various satellites and in situ instruments. Data are on a 1/4 degree grid with a 5 day resolution.  All data is generated by computer models subject to error.  Use data at your own risk.  

For additional information see https://svsarana.com/oscar
Data extracted from oscar_currents_nrt_20251016.nc last updated 2025-10-19 08:11:41 UTC

View the attached GRIB file

In Airmail for HF radio, clicking the attachment can open it in ViewFax. Use ViewFax 5.0.56 or newer; older versions may not display the current data. Otherwise, save the OSCAR-xxxxxxxx.grb attachment and open it in a GRIB viewer that supports ocean-current fields.

In ViewFax, move the pointer over a current arrow to see its direction and speed.

Example request areas

AreaRequest command
Outside Bajaoscar:32N,20N,120W,110W
Mainland Mexicooscar:25N,15N,110W,93W
Central Americaoscar:15N,5N,95W,78W
Ecuador and Galápagososcar:5N,5S,93W,77W
View example OSCAR charts

Outside Baja

Outside Baja OSCAR current chart

Near-shore data is not perfectly clipped to the shoreline, but it provides a useful picture of offshore conditions.

Mainland Mexico

Mainland Mexico OSCAR current chart

Central America

Central America OSCAR current chart

Ecuador and Galápagos

Ecuador and Galápagos OSCAR current chart

This region highlights the equatorial and counter-equatorial currents.

About OSCAR data and this email service

Earth and Space Research (ESR) produces Ocean Surface Current Analysis Real-time (OSCAR), a worldwide estimate of near-surface ocean currents. This service converts the model data into compact GRIB files suitable for low-bandwidth connections aboard boats.

OSCAR covers most of the globe from 80°N to 80°S on a 0.25° grid. It is a modeled estimate assembled from satellite and in-situ observations, so it is subject to error and is generally more useful for offshore trends than shoreline conditions.

See ESR's OSCAR overview and the 2006 paper Validation and Error Analysis of OSCAR Sea-surface Currents for technical background.

Additional current data

NOAA's Atlantic RTOFS model is available separately through query@saildocs.com—not the svsarana.com address. Its request format is:

rtofs:north,south,west,east

Back to top