Global Near-Real-Time Sea Surface Temperature from AMSR2 Satellite

Data from May 2012 onward provides near-real-time subskin sea surface temperature measurements derived from the AMSR2 instrument on the GCOM-W satellite. The product is generated by Remote Sensing Systems for the GHRSST Project, with data typically available within 3 hours of observation. The conical scanning mechanism achieves over 99% Earth coverage every 2 days.

Use Cases

• Modeling global SST anomalies and trends using the time-series of temperature retrievals.
• Assimilating near-real-time SST fields into numerical weather prediction and ocean circulation models.
• Calibrating and validating other satellite-derived SST products from infrared sensors.
• Analyzing diurnal temperature variability using the separate daytime and nighttime data acquisitions.
• Studying regional climate patterns like El Niño by mapping SST spatial distributions from the 1450 km swath data.

Strengths

• Near-real-time data latency of generally within 3 hours.
• Global coverage exceeding 99% of the Earth's surface every 2 days.
• Continuous temporal coverage from the instrument launch in May 2012.
• Data sourced from a well-documented satellite instrument (AMSR2) with a 1450 km observation swath.

Limitations

• The dataset provides subskin temperature, which differs from bulk sea surface temperature measured by buoys.
• Microwave-derived SST can be affected by atmospheric conditions like heavy rain.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and detailed column schema are not provided in the input.

Provenance

Source

Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) on the GCOM-W satellite, processed by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS/REMSS).

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via conical scanning microwave radiometer.

Time Range

From May 2012 onward.

Freshness

Near-real-time with 3-hour latency.

Geography

Global ocean coverage.