Openings in the Arctic Ocean ice cover from small-scale sea ice motion fields are compared with open water fractions retrieved from satellite passive microwave observations. We find very little agreement between the results. Passive microwave retrieval algorithms seem to be insensitive to small areas of open-water in winter leads. Variability in the passive microwave retrievals is mostly due to anomalous and persistent regions of lower ice concentration where no openings are found. Between January and April of 1998, openings cover ~0.3 ¿ 0.1% of the total area within the perennial ice zone. This is smaller, in one instance ten times, than the open water fraction from the passive microwave retrievals. Previous bounds of open water coverage of the ice cover imposed on climate simulations based on uncertainties in passive microwave retrievals (¿4 - 7%) are too high and the over-estimated open water fraction on model results should be re-examined.