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Full catalog/CCMP_WINDS_10M6HR_L4_V3.1
CCMP_WINDS_10M6HR_L4_V3.1·v3.1·dataset

Surface wind speed and direction over the ocean (every 6 hours)

RSS CCMP 6-Hourly 10 Meter Surface Winds Level 4 Version 3.1
ocean NASA POCLOUD Level 4 active netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Gives the speed and direction of winds blowing just above the ocean surface, mapped across nearly the whole globe every six hours.

How it's made. Combines wind readings from many satellite microwave sensors with a weather-model background field, blended together by Remote Sensing Systems into a quarter-degree grid.

How & where you'd use it. Useful for weather forecasting, marine and shipping safety, studying storms and ocean circulation, and tracking long-term changes in ocean winds.

What's measured

OCEANS › OCEAN WINDS › SURFACE WINDS › OCEAN SURFACE WIND VECTORSOCEANS › OCEAN WINDS › SURFACE WINDS

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1993-01-01 → ongoing
  • Measured byTRMM (TMI) · DMSP 5D-3/F15 (SSM/I) · DMSP 5D-2/F8 (SSM/I) · Aqua (AMSR-E) · GCOM-W1 (AMSR2) · DMSP 5D-3/F16 (SSMIS) · QUIKSCAT (SEAWINDS) · GPM (GMI) · DMSP 5D-2/F14 (SSM/I) · DMSP 5D-2/F10 (SSM/I) · CORIOLIS (WINDSAT) · DMSP 5D-2/F11 (SSM/I) · DMSP 5D-3/F17 (SSMIS) · DMSP 5D-2/F13 (SSM/I) · METOP-A (ASCAT) · METOP-B (ASCAT)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • Spatial extent-180, -80, 180, 80
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Watch sea-surface temperature and marine heatwaves
  • Spot algal blooms and ocean-colour shifts
  • Support fisheries and coastal monitoring
Official description

This data set contains a 6-hourly, 0.25 degree resolution, near-global gridded analysis of ocean surface vector winds from the Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP) project, produced by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS). CCMP is a combination of inter-calibrated 10 m ocean surface wind retrievals from multiple types of satellite microwave sensors and a background field from reanalysis. The wind retrievals are derived by RSS and include most of the wind-sensing U.S., Japanese, and European satellites flown to date. The background field is from ERA5 10m Neutral Stability winds. The result is a product that remains closely tied to the satellite retrievals where they are available and closely collocated in time and space. Data files are available in netCDF format, with one file per day. This time record is ongoing, with an expected latency of 2-3 months for new files. Version 3.1 updates include but are not limited to: (1) Improved performance and agreement with satellite winds at high wind speed, (2) Minimized spurious trends caused by the interaction between the amount of satellite measurements available and the satellite/model biases, and (3) improving the quality of the wind after 2012. Version 3.1 is produced and maintained by RSS with support from a NASA grant (ROSES proposal 17-OVWST-17-0023). Previous versions were funded by the NASA Making Earth Science data records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) program, with the original V1.0 led by Dr. Robert Atlas at Goddard Space Flight Center.

Get the data

ccmp_winds_10m6hr_l4_v3.1_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="CCMP_WINDS_10M6HR_L4_V3.1",
    version="3.1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from POCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.