Background
The sea surface temperatures (SST) of the world's oceans are central to interactions of the ocean and the atmosphere that control climate and weather. Tropical storm and hurricane formation and evolution are strongly influenced by SST and ocean nutrient concentrations and primary production are correlated with SST. All aspects of ocean-atmosphere exchange of heat, momentum, and freshwater are related fundamentally with SST as is every human activity on or within the upper ocean.
Among its many uses, scientist use SST data to provide the oceanic boundary conditions for atmospheric models and the surface heat flux constraints for oceanic models. These data also link the ocean and the atmosphere in coupled ocean-atmosphere models. Nearly all ocean and/or atmosphere numerical simulation rely on some form of SST input. These simulations have a wide array of uses from weather prediction to climate change modeling to coastal ocean prediction including harmful algal bloom and storm surge prediction. For these reasons SST data products provide both a first look at the conditions of the upper-ocean for recreational ocean users and scientist as well as providing scientifically viable data for use in ocean and atmosphere research and engineering.
Data Gathering and Quality Control
The SST products on this website are presented in map layers. The default SST map contains mooring observations (the circles) with a daily averaged, cloud-free satellite SST product as the backdrop. The cloud-free daily average is designed as a gap-free SST field for use in numerical model simulations that do not tolerate gaps. In the process of filling gaps where there are no real SST measurements, statistical estimations are made using a method called optimal interpolation (OI). While this product is useful for modeling simulations and to get an estimation of the average temperature for that day, there may be regions where the daily cloud-free product differs from the actual temperatures. Depending on the time of day (or night), the daily average will differ from the actual temperature at local time.
To get a potentially more accurate estimate of SST for the specified time several other layers options are provided. The AVHRR and MODIS layers give temperature estimates only when and where data is available. Satellites pass over a specified region of the ocean several times a day but data are not available continuously. Also, infrared sensors cannot measure SST when there are clouds. For this reason AVHRR and MODIS SST products have gaps due to clouds and return data only when the satellite passes over the region of interest. When data is available during clear skies the temperatures are a more accurate representation of the actual temperature at the specified time and location. The most timely and accurate SST values are obtained with these layers.
The data layers were developed for a variety of purposes each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Users are encouraged to read the descriptions of each data layer (below) to gain a better understanding of the usefulness of each individual product.
Layer Descriptions
The following is a list of available datasets.
- Cloud Free OI SST
An operational cloud-free satellite SST product for the SEACOOS domain. Using optimal interpolation we merge three types of satellite sea surface temperature (SST) data to produce a cloud-free satellite SST field for the SEACOOS domain. The three data products we use are:
- Infrared (IR) SST observations collected by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensors on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES) series. Data are collected by the Institute for Marine Remote Sensing using the High Resolution Picture Transmission (HRPT) antenna located at the University of South Florida, in St. Petersburg, FL.
- Microwave SST observations produced by Remote Sensing Systems and sponsored by NASA's Earth Science Information Partnerships (ESIP): a federation of information sites for Earth Science; and by NASA's TRMM Science Team. The TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) data are obtained daily from anonymous ftp at ftp.ssmi.com.
- SST derived from the series of Geostationary Environmental Satellites (GOES). SSTs are calculated using a regression onto the channel brightness temperatures on board the GOES instrument. Data obtained daily from anonymous ftp at podaac.jpl.nasa.gov, maintained by the NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC), at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.
The methods are described in He, et al. (2003), A cloud-free, satellite-derived, sea surface temperature analysis for the West Florida Shelf , Geophysical Research Letters, 30(15), 1811, doi:10.1029/2003/GL017673 and detailed results and comparisons are presented at http://ocgmodel.marine.usf.edu/~ruoying/OAsst.html. The spatial resolution is 5 km. This OI SST field is produced at the University of South Florida (USF) jointly by the Ocean Circulation Group and the Institute for Marine Remote Sensing with the assistance of Dr. R. He, WHOI. -
- AVHRR SST
- This SST layer is estimated from infrared measurements collected by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer aboard NOAA's series of polar orbiting satellites. Energy levels at the top of the atmosphere in the 10 - 11 micron range are fit statistically to in-water SST measurements to allow 1km resolution SST estimates to be made. These data are made available by the USF Institute for Marine Remote Sensing.
- MODIS SST
- This SST is derived from infrared measurements collected by the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers aboard NASA's polar orbiting Terra and Aqua satellites. Energy levels at the top of the atmosphere in the 10-11 micron range (daytime) and 3-4 micron range (nighttime) are fit statistically to in-water SST measurements to allow 1km resolution SST estimates to be made. The resolution and accuracy of MODIS data are among the best available to Earth scientists today. These data are made available by the USF Institute for Marine Remote Sensing.
- MODIS Enhanced RGB
- An enhanced true color image of the upper ocean waters and coastal zones, estimated from the ocean color measurements collected by the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers aboard NASA's polar orbiting Terra and Aqua satellites. The red, green, and blue channels are provided by the water-leaving radiance data at 1km resolution, namely 555nm (R), 490nm (G), 443nm (B). This layer is provided by the USF Institute for Marine Remote Sensing.
- MODIS RGB high resolution
- The approximate true color of the upper ocean waters, coastal zones, and land areas estimated from color measurements collected by the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers aboard NASA's polar orbiting Terra and Aqua satellites. Red, green, and blue channels are combined to represent what your eye would see in the ocean from this vantage point in space. The image, at approximately 250m resolution, uses radiance data at 645nm, 555nm, 469nm as the red, green, and blue channels, respectively. This layer is available for select coastal locations and is provided by USF Institute for Marine Remote Sensing.
- MODIS RGB low resolution
- The approximate true color of the upper ocean waters, estimated from the ocean color measurements collected by the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers aboard NASA's polar orbiting Terra and Aqua satellites. Red, green, and blue channels are combined to represent what your eye would see in the ocean from this vantage point in space. The image, at approximately 1km resolution, uses radiance data at 678nm, 551nm, and 443nm as the red, green, blue channels, respectively. These data are made available by the USF Institute for Marine Remote Sensing.
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