Global Sea Surface Temperature from Metop-A Satellite AVHRR

Twice-daily global sea surface temperature data is derived from infrared channels on the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer aboard the MetOp-A satellite. The European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility produces this product in near real time, using a multispectral algorithm corrected with numerical weather prediction models. The data is remapped onto a 0.05-degree global grid and is compliant with the GHRSST Data Specification version 2.

Use Cases

• Analyzing diurnal warming events using twice-daily sub-skin temperature observations.
• Validating ocean circulation and climate models with global, gridded sea surface temperature fields.
• Monitoring marine heatwaves and their spatial extent over time.
• Assimilating near real-time sea surface temperature data into numerical weather prediction systems.
• Studying regional and seasonal biases in atmospheric water vapor and temperature profiles.

Strengths

• Data is produced in near real time, supporting operational forecasting and rapid event monitoring.
• The multispectral algorithm uses three AVHRR infrared channels (3.7, 10.8, 12.0 µm) and is corrected for atmospheric biases using NWP models.
• Provides global coverage on a consistent 0.05-degree grid twice daily.

Limitations

• Specific row count, file size, and column names are not provided by any source.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' metadata: one source reports 2026-04-01 (likely a placeholder), while another reports 2016-02-23.

Provenance

Source

European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF).

Collection Method

SST retrieved from AVHRR level 1b data acquired via the EUMETCAST system, processed with a multispectral algorithm and atmospheric correction.

Time Range

Coverage begins with the MetOp-A satellite launch on 19 October 2006; end date is not specified.

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:11:11.392955

Geography

Global.