Satellite Ocean Wind and Vapor Weekly Averages

Remote Sensing Systems provides weekly averaged satellite measurements of key ocean and atmospheric variables, including wind speed, water vapor, cloud water, and rain rate. The data is generated using a unified algorithm refined over 20 years and is part of NASA's MEaSUREs Program. It originates from the DMSP F13 satellite and has been reformatted into netCDF by the Global Hydrology Resource Center.

Use Cases

• Analyzing weekly ocean surface wind speed patterns for marine navigation and storm tracking.
• Tracking atmospheric water vapor content to study its role in weather systems and climate feedbacks.
• Monitoring cloud liquid water and precipitation rates for hydrological cycle and extreme weather research.
• Using intercalibrated SSM/I and SSMIS brightness temperatures to extend a consistent multi-decadal time series.

Strengths

• Algorithm is the product of 20 years of refinements, improvements, and verifications.
• SSMIS data is carefully intercalibrated to the brightness temperature level of previous SSM/I sensors, ensuring continuity.

Limitations

• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between sources (2009 vs. 2026), casting doubt on data currency and maintenance.
• Key metadata such as row count, specific column names, and precise spatial/temporal coverage are unavailable from all sources.

Provenance

Source

Remote Sensing Systems (RSS), generated for NASA's MEaSUREs Program.

Collection Method

Satellite microwave radiometer data from DMSP F13, processed with a unified physical retrieval algorithm.

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:20:58.690370

Geography

Global ocean coverage.