DMSP F8 Satellite Ocean Wind, Vapor, Cloud, and Rain Grids

Satellite-derived daily gridded data products for ocean surface wind speed, atmospheric water vapor, cloud liquid water, and rain rate. The dataset is produced by Remote Sensing Systems using a unified algorithm developed over two decades and is part of NASA's MEaSUREs Program. Data from the DMSP F8 satellite's SSM/I sensor is reformatted into netCDF by the Global Hydrology Resource Center.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global patterns of ocean surface wind speed for weather and climate modeling.
• Tracking atmospheric water vapor content to understand the hydrological cycle.
• Studying cloud liquid water distribution and its role in Earth's radiation budget.
• Estimating precipitation rates over oceans for climate and freshwater flux studies.
• Creating time series of intercalibrated SSM/I and SSMIS data for climate trend analysis.

Strengths

• Algorithm is the product of 20 years of refinements, improvements, and verifications.
• SSMIS data is intercalibrated with previous SSM/I data, extending a consistent time series.
• Data is produced under NASA's MEaSUREs Program, indicating a high standard of scientific curation.

Limitations

• Conflicting last updated dates (1991-12-31 vs. 2026-03-12) across sources create uncertainty about data currency.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and detailed column names are not provided by any source.

Provenance

Source

Remote Sensing Systems (RSS), processed by NASA's Global Hydrology Resource Center (GHRC DAAC).

Collection Method

Generated from Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) data on the DMSP F8 satellite using a unified, physically-based retrieval algorithm.

Time Range

Includes data from the DMSP F8 satellite; specific start and end dates are not provided.

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:21:25.472891

Geography

Global ocean coverage.