COWVR STP-H8: Satellite Ocean Wind and Atmospheric Water Measurements

COWVR STP-H8 Version 10.0 provides satellite-based observations of surface wind vectors, precipitable water vapor, and cloud liquid water from the International Space Station. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory provided the sensor, and data collection began in January 2022, with files generated roughly hourly. Spatial resolution is roughly 35 km, and data are available in HDF5 format.

Use Cases

• Monitor ocean surface wind patterns based on wind vector measurements.
• Analyze atmospheric moisture content based on precipitable water vapor and cloud liquid water data.
• Validate weather and climate models based on satellite-derived environmental data records.
• Assess lower-cost sensor performance for ocean wind observation based on the technology demonstration mission description.

Strengths

• Data collection began in January 2022, providing a continuous record.
• Spatial resolution is roughly 35 km.
• Files are generated roughly hourly, corresponding to the ISS orbit period.
• Version 10.0 is the first public release, indicating a stable baseline.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• File metadata formats may be different than what an average user is familiar with, requiring consultation of the User Guide.
• Data are non-sun-synchronous, which may affect analysis patterns.

Provenance

Source

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, United States Space Force, Space Systems Command, Development Corps for Innovation and Prototyping.

Collection Method

Satellite-based observations from the COWVR sensor aboard the International Space Station.

Time Range

Beginning January 2022.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:24:00.367026; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage over the satellite swath.