GHRSST Level 2P: Global Sea Surface Temperature from Suomi NPP VIIRS at 1.5 km Resolution

GHRSST Level 2P 1 m Depth Global Sea Surface Temperature from VIIRS on Suomi NPP (GDS2) V1 is a global sea surface temperature dataset based on retrievals from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The sensor is on the Suomi NPP satellite launched on 28 October 2011, and the dataset provides data at an effective resolution of 1500 meters at nadir, adhering to the GHRSST Data Processing Specification (GDS) version 2 format.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean-atmosphere heat exchange based on global sea surface temperature measurements.
• Monitoring marine heatwaves and climate anomalies based on daily satellite-derived temperature data.
• Validating and calibrating other sea surface temperature products based on the GHRSST GDS2 standard format.
• Studying diurnal warming and spatial temperature gradients based on the 1.5 km resolution data.

Strengths

• Data adheres to the standardized GHRSST Data Processing Specification (GDS) version 2 format.
• Sensor has a 3040-km swath width, providing broad spatial coverage per pass.
• Effective pixel size is constrained to no more than 1600 meters at the swath edge, with a 1500-meter resolution at nadir.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale statistical modeling.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Satellite retrievals from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite.

Time Range

Data collection began after the satellite launch on 28 October 2011.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:34:39.001047; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean coverage.