Monthly Ocean Winds and Atmospheric Data from DMSP F11 Satellite

Remote Sensing Systems provides monthly averaged ocean and atmospheric data derived from the DMSP F11 satellite's SSM/I sensor. The dataset includes retrievals for ocean wind speed, atmospheric water vapor, cloud liquid water, and rain rate, generated using a unified algorithm refined over 20 years. Data is reformatted into netCDF by NASA's Global Hydrology Resource Center as part of the MEaSUREs Program.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term trends in ocean surface wind speeds over global grids.
• Studying the relationship between atmospheric water vapor content and precipitation rates.
• Validating climate model outputs for cloud liquid water and rain rate parameters.
• Investigating spatial patterns of oceanic wind stress for weather and climate research.

Strengths

• Data is intercalibrated across sensor generations (SSM/I to SSMIS) to ensure consistency for time-series analysis.
• Retrieval algorithm is the product of 20 years of refinements, improvements, and verifications.
• Dataset is produced under NASA's MEaSUREs Program, indicating a methodical, long-term data record effort.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts exist: one source lists a last updated date of 2000-05-31, while others list 2026-03-12, creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided by any source, limiting precise technical assessment.
• License information is inconsistent, listed as 'other-license-specified' or 'None' across different platform entries.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Data retrieved from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) on the DMSP F11 satellite using a unified, physically based algorithm.

Time Range

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Freshness

2026-03-12 21:53:42.267336

Geography

Global ocean coverage.