Aqua MODIS SST: Global Day/Night Sea Surface Temperature

Global sea surface temperature data derived from Aqua MODIS thermal infrared observations, produced in near real-time by the Ocean Biology DAAC. The dataset is used to detect oceanic fronts and eddies, monitor marine heatwaves, and provide boundary conditions for climate and ecosystem models. Infrared-based measurements are sensitive to cloud cover, aerosols, and diurnal warming effects.

Use Cases

• Detect oceanic fronts and eddies based on sea surface temperature gradients
• Monitor marine heatwave events and anomalies using the temperature time series
• Drive ecosystem and habitat models by pairing SST with chlorophyll-a and PAR data
• Provide boundary conditions for biogeochemical and climate analyses

Strengths

• Provides global coverage from satellite observations
• Offers near real-time data for timely monitoring applications
• Includes quality flags (qual_sst) for data assessment

Limitations

• Infrared-based SST is sensitive to clouds, aerosols, and diurnal warming, requiring careful flag use
• Quicklook products use less-than-optimal ancillary data and calibration
• Metadata conflicts exist: one source lists a last update of 2026-03-13, another lists none

Provenance

Source

NASA Ocean Biology DAAC (OB_DAAC)

Collection Method

Derived from Aqua MODIS thermal infrared satellite observations

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 15:53:26.416243

Geography

Global