Satellite Ocean Data: Wind, Vapor, Cloud, and Rain Averages

A 3-day average dataset from the DMSP F16 satellite's SSMIS sensor, providing a long-term time series of key ocean and atmospheric variables. Remote Sensing Systems produced the data using a unified physical algorithm refined over 20 years, and NASA's MEaSUREs Program distributes it via the Global Hydrology Resource Center. The data is intercalibrated with earlier SSM/I sensors to ensure consistency.

Use Cases

• Analyzing trends in ocean surface wind speed for climate modeling.
• Studying the distribution of atmospheric water vapor over marine regions.
• Investigating the relationship between cloud liquid water and precipitation rates.
• Validating and calibrating other satellite or model-derived oceanographic data.

Strengths

• Data is intercalibrated with previous SSM/I sensors, extending a consistent multi-decadal time series.
• Retrieval algorithm is the product of 20 years of refinements and verifications.
• Provides simultaneous retrieval of four key geophysical variables: wind speed, water vapor, cloud water, and rain rate.

Limitations

• Specific temporal coverage, row count, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on license: one specifies 'other-license-specified', while another lists 'None'.

Provenance

Source

Remote Sensing Systems, distributed by NASA's MEaSUREs Program and the Global Hydrology Resource Center.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the DMSP F16 SSMIS sensor, processed with a unified physical algorithm and reformatted into netCDF.

Time Range

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Freshness

2026-03-12 22:21:11.726657

Geography

Global ocean coverage.