GHRSST VIIRS: Global Sea Surface Temperature at 1-Meter Depth

VIIRS, a 22-band radiometer on the Suomi NPP satellite launched in 2011, provides this global sea surface temperature dataset. The dataset offers near-daily coverage with a spatial resolution of 750 meters at nadir, constrained to no more than 1600 meters at the swath edge. Each netCDF file contains 768 x 3200 pixels of temperature data at a 1-meter depth, processed in compliance with GHRSST GDS version 2 specifications.

Use Cases

• Monitoring global ocean warming trends based on near-daily, high-resolution temperature coverage.
• Validating ocean circulation and climate models using spatially detailed sea surface temperature data.
• Studying diurnal warming events and thermal fronts based on the 1-meter depth measurement.
• Assimilating satellite-derived temperature data into numerical weather prediction systems.
• Analyzing pixel-level temperature variation across the sensor's 3060 km swath width.

Strengths

• Provides global near-daily coverage from a satellite launched on 28 October 2011.
• Spatial resolution is 750 meters at nadir, constrained to no more than 1600 meters at the swath edge.
• Represents version 3.0 with improvements in contamination detection, cloud detection, and data format.
• Data files are structured in the standardized GHRSST GDS version 2 format with defined dimensions.

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

Coverage likely begins after the satellite's launch on 28 October 2011; specific temporal range is not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:41:49.994160; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage, providing data both on the day and night side of the Earth.