The RSS Wind Speed over Ice-Free Oceans layer indicates the average wind speed within a month in meters per second over ocean areas that are not covered in ice. The imagery resolution is about 1 degree, or about 111 kilometers, and the temporal resolution is monthly. This layer was constructed using data collected from all of the SSM/I, SSMIS F16, SSMIS F17, AMSR-E, AMSR-2, and WindSat instruments. This layer was constructed by first creating a monthly wind speed 1-degree map from each satellite. Then, quality control measures were applied to this map and combined with wind speed measurements from each instrument to output this layer.

The Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) is a seven channel passive microwave radiometer operating at four frequencies and dual-polarization. The Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS) is also a microwave radiometer that includes a sounder. The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) is a twelve-channel, six-frequency, total power passive-microwave radiometer. The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) is a remote sensing instrument measuring weak microwave emissions from the surface and the atmosphere of the Earth providing microwave emission and scattering intensity measurements. Finally, WindSat is a polarimetric microwave radiometer which measures ocean surface wind vectors.

References: GHRC: RSS Monthly 1-Deg Merged Wind Climatology NetCDF V7R01; RSS: Merged Wind Speed 1-deg Monthly Climate Product; RSS: AMSR2/AMSRE; RSS: SSMI/SSMIS; GCOM-W1: AMSR2; WindSat Quick Guide by NASA / SPoRT