As the largest source of momentum for the ocean surface

wind affects the full range of oceanic motion and plays a very important part in air-sea interaction. It is recognized that remote sensing （RS） satellite has the capability of acquiring high quality marine winds with fine resolution in both space and time. Meanwhile

geographical information system（GIS） is becoming an unprecedented powerful tool for storing

processing

analyzing

and visualizing geo-spatial data. Jointly using RS and GIS technologies

a marine GIS（MGIS） system based on satellite data is developed for the analysis of global sea surface wind speed. TOPEX altimeter data between January 1993 and December 1998 which cover the oceanic areas within ±65° are used as input. An analytical model of wind speed is proposed

on the basis of which seasonal

annual and interannual variabilities （both intensity and timing） are derived. The MGIS consists of five functional modules: A database construction module

a human-computer interface module

a wind speed data preparation and analysis module

a graphic and image production module and a typical illustration management module. The system also includes three data files of model coefficient

coastal line

and typical graphics and images

respectively. A relational database structure is adopted by the system. As examples of the application of this MGIS

results of three thematic cases are presented

namely

the global marine wind climatology

the Asian Monsoon

and the El Ni*ko related interannual wind variability. These applications demonstrate the advantages of jointly using RS and GIS in oceanographic studies. We will continue to improve this MGIS by expanding its functionality and incorporating other key geophysical parameters into the system.