Aqua MODIS NSST: Global Nighttime Sea Surface Temperature from Satellite

Global nighttime sea surface temperature estimates derived from thermal infrared observations by the Aqua MODIS satellite. The Ocean Biology DAAC produces this near real-time (NRT) product, which provides a snapshot of data from a short time period within a single orbit. The data includes variables for sea surface temperature in degrees Celsius and an integer quality flag.

Use Cases

• Detecting ocean fronts based on nighttime sea surface temperature gradients.
• Supporting fisheries habitat models by pairing sea surface temperature with chlorophyll-a and other ocean data.
• Providing stable inputs for climate analysis and air-sea flux calculations.
• Monitoring thermal conditions in ocean regions, with awareness of increased uncertainty under thin clouds or heavy aerosols.

Strengths

• Data is derived from thermal infrared observations acquired during local night to minimize diurnal warming effects.
• Includes a dedicated quality flag (qual_sst) to help users assess data reliability.
• Produced by the Ocean Biology DAAC, a NASA data center, suggesting authoritative processing.

Limitations

• Near real-time products use less-than-optimal ancillary data and calibration compared to standard science products.
• Uncertainties increase under conditions of thin clouds, heavy aerosols, dust, or strong thermal gradients.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Ocean Biology DAAC (OB_DAAC) via NASA's Earthdata platform.

Collection Method

Derived from thermal infrared observations by the Aqua MODIS satellite sensor.

Freshness

Near real-time (NRT); specific update frequency is unknown.

Geography

Global