Black Sea Daily Gap-Free Sea Surface Temperature Maps

Daily gap-free sea surface temperature maps for the Black Sea are produced at a 0.0625-degree horizontal resolution. Data originates from satellite infrared radiometer measurements processed with statistical interpolation. This product is the nominal operational sea surface temperature dataset for the Black Sea provided by the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS).

Use Cases

• Analyze daily SST anomaly patterns across the Black Sea basin using the 0.0625-degree gridded data.
• Validate regional ocean circulation models by comparing simulated SST with these satellite-derived L4 analysis maps.
• Study seasonal and interannual temperature trends in the Black Sea from the continuous daily time series.
• Assess marine heatwave intensity and duration by processing the gap-free daily temperature fields.

Strengths

• Provides daily, gap-free (L4) analysis ensuring complete spatial coverage.
• High spatial resolution of approximately 0.0625 degrees (roughly 7 km).
• Operational product from CMEMS, indicating standardized processing and quality control.

Limitations

• Specific temporal coverage (start/end dates) and update recency are not provided.
• Accuracy may be reduced in cloud-covered areas as it relies on infrared measurements.
• Limited to the Black Sea region, not suitable for global or other basin studies.

Provenance

Source

Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS), via POCLOUD and NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Statistical interpolation of infrared measurements from satellite radiometers.

Freshness

Nominal operational product, suggesting regular updates; specific frequency is null.

Geography

Black Sea region.