Aquarius Ancillary Sea Surface Temperature Gridded Daily Data

Daily sea surface temperature data, derived from the Reynolds NCDC 0.25-degree dataset and regridded to 1-degree resolution, serves as ancillary input for calibrating salinity retrievals from the Aquarius/SAC-D mission. This dataset represents the official end-of-mission public release (Version 5.0) and is provided at daily, 7-day, and monthly intervals. It is specifically the descending orbit, daily product.

Use Cases

• Calibrating satellite-based ocean salinity retrieval algorithms based on ancillary sea surface temperature data.
• Analyzing daily sea surface temperature patterns at a 1-degree spatial resolution for climate studies.
• Validating other sea surface temperature products against a regridded, mission-standardized dataset.
• Studying the temporal co-variability of sea surface temperature and salinity from the Aquarius mission period.

Strengths

• Represents the official end-of-mission public data release (Version 5.0) from the NASA Aquarius/SAC-D mission.
• Data is cross-listed on multiple authoritative platforms (Data.gov and NASA Earthdata), indicating validation and importance.
• Derived from a established source dataset (Reynolds NCDC 0.25-degree SST).

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• The last update date conflicts between sources, with one showing 2015 and another showing 2026, creating uncertainty about data maintenance.
• Documentation is limited to the provided description; detailed technical specifications are not listed.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Aquarius/SAC-D mission.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the Aquarius instrument, processed from Level 2 to Level 3 standard mapped images.

Freshness

2026-03-13 15:03:15.225568

Geography

Global ocean coverage.