Sea Surface Temperature and Cloud Composites for African Coastal Waters

Approximately 12,000 satellite passes from NOAA AVHRR radiometers provide weekly and monthly composites of sea surface temperature and cloud parameters. The dataset, created by SAI/JRC for the CORSA project, covers the ocean around Africa from August 1981 to December 1992. Data spans from 45°S to 45°N and 55°E to 30°W at a 4 km resolution.

Use Cases

• Analyze weekly and monthly sea surface temperature composites to study coastal upwelling processes off Northwest Africa.
• Use cloud parameter composites derived from a modified Saunders and Kriebel approach for cloud climatology studies over the ocean.
• Validate sea surface temperature algorithms by comparing 4 km resolution composites with lower-resolution datasets like COADS or GOSTA.
• Investigate temporal trends in brightness temperatures from AVHRR channels 3, 4, and 5 for the 1981-1992 period.
• Map spatial patterns of 'top of atmosphere' reflectances from AVHRR channels 1 and 2 for the African coastal domain.

Strengths

• Approximately 12,000 satellite passes provide a dense observational record.
• Data covers an 11-year period from August 1981 to December 1992.
• Spatial coverage is broad, spanning 90 degrees of latitude and 85 degrees of longitude around Africa.
• Composites maintain the original 4 km spatial resolution of the sensor data.

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, with the primary record ending in 1992.
• Only weekly and monthly composite products are retained; individual satellite pass data is not stored.
• The description notes an intention to extend data to 1995, but its availability is uncertain.

Provenance

Source

NOAA AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) GAC data, processed by SAI/JRC for the CORSA project.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data calibrated to top-of-atmosphere reflectances and brightness temperatures, processed into weekly and monthly composites.

Time Range

August 1981 to December 1992

Freshness

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Geography

Ocean surrounding Africa, from 45°S to 45°N and 55°E to 30°W.