GHRSST VIIRS: Global Sea Surface Skin Temperature from Suomi-NPP Satellite

NASA-produced skin sea surface temperature data from the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi-NPP satellite, providing global daily coverage. The dataset contains two SST products: a day/night skin SST derived from 11 and 12 micron channels, and a night-only SST_triple using 3.7, 11, and 12 micron channels. Production is a collaboration between NASA JPL, the Ocean Biology Processing Group, and RSMAS under the GHRSST project.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean heat content and climate patterns based on global daily skin SST measurements.
• Validating other satellite or in-situ sea surface temperature products based on the dual-algorithm (day/night and triple-channel) approach.
• Studiating diurnal warming cycles based on the separate day and night skin SST observations.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of sea surface temperature at a 750-meter nadir resolution.

Strengths

• Provides two distinct SST products (skin SST and SST_triple) for algorithm comparison and specific use cases.
• Offers global daily coverage with data stored in approximately 288 five-minute granules per day.
• Data is produced under the GHRSST project framework, suggesting standardized formatting and metadata.

Limitations

• The SST_triple product can only be used at night due to sun glint in the 3.7 micron channel.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Row count and file sizes are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), produced by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG).

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing from the Visible and Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the Suomi-NPP spacecraft.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:41:33.492724; freshness should be verified

Geography

Full global coverage obtained each day.