Ocean Surface Winds Data Sources

For daily and long term weather forecasting to global climate studies, knowledge of the energy exchange at air-sea interface is very important. The ocean surface winds are a key parameter influencing the coupling of energy between the ocean and the atmosphere. Thus, global monitoring of the ocean surface winds is of vital importance to the operational and scientific community.

While instruments on buoys and ships do provide measurements of the surface wind vectors, their coverage is insufficient to provide a global wind field map. On the other hand, satellite based sensors can provide global coverage in a reasonable time period. Additionally, sensors operating at microwave frequencies can measure the surface wind vector during nighttime and cloudy conditions, therefore, greatly increasing the quantity of surface observations.

CoastWatch provides near real-time ocean surface wind products with data from the QuikSCAT satellite and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). Although the ocean surface wind products appear similar, each product has unique characteristics dependent on sensor characteristics and wind derivation methods. The QuikSCAT products use color as well as wind-barb notation to depict velocity (wind speed and direction), while the SSM/I products show only wind speed.

Recent Imagery View Products	Products:  Global ocean surface winds Sensors:  SSM/I Spacecraft:Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Distribution:  CoastWatch Home Page Registration Required?  No More information
Data from the DMSP satellites are processed and mapped to produce ocean surface wind products. These products are publicly available within hours of the satellite pass.

Recent Imagery View Products	Products:  Global ocean surface winds Sensors:  SeaWinds Spacecraft:QuikSCAT Distribution:  CoastWatch Home Page Registration Required?  No More information
Data from the QuikSCAT satellite are processed and mapped to produce ocean surface wind products. These products are publicly available within hours of the satellite pass. Retrospective data are available through NASA JPL.