SSMIS Satellite Daily Ocean Grids for Wind, Vapor, Cloud, and Rain

Remote Sensing Systems generates this dataset using a unified algorithm refined over 20 years to retrieve four key ocean-atmosphere variables simultaneously. The Global Hydrology Resource Center reformats the binary data into netCDF files for the DMSP F16 satellite. This product is part of NASA's MEaSUREs Program and extends a critical long-term time series.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ocean surface wind patterns using the retrieved wind speed data.
• Monitoring atmospheric water vapor content over global oceans.
• Studying cloud microphysics via the cloud liquid water feature.
• Investigating precipitation events and rates over marine regions.
• Conducting climate trend analysis by leveraging the intercalibrated, multi-decadal satellite record.

Strengths

• Data is intercalibrated to previous sensor brightness temperatures, ensuring consistency for long-term time series analysis.
• The retrieval algorithm is the result of 20 years of refinements, improvements, and verifications.
• Provides four simultaneous physical retrievals (wind speed, water vapor, cloud water, rain rate) from a single sensor.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and detailed column names are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on license information, listing 'other-license-specified' and 'None'.
• The provenance 'last_updated' field shows a future date (2026-03-12), indicating potential metadata error.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Data generated from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS) on the DMSP F16 satellite using a unified physical retrieval algorithm.

Time Range

Extends the time series from the previous SSM/I sensor, but specific start and end dates are not provided.

Freshness

2026-03-12 21:52:54.778029

Geography

Global ocean coverage, inferred from 'Ocean Product Grids' description.