AMSR-E: Global Subskin Sea Surface Temperature from NASA Aqua Satellite

GHRSST Level 2P sea surface temperature data derived from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. Remote Sensing Systems processes the data, providing both near-real-time and final analysis products. The instrument launched on 4 May 2002 and can measure SST through clouds.

Use Cases

• Modeling global ocean heat content based on subskin sea surface temperature measurements.
• Analyzing climate variability and trends using cloud-penetrating microwave data.
• Assimilating SST data into weather and ocean forecasting models based on the near-real-time product.
• Calibrating and validating other satellite-derived SST products based on the final analysis data.

Strengths

• Provides an uninterrupted view of global SST due to cloud-penetrating microwave capability.
• Includes both near-real-time (available within ~3 hours) and final archive-quality (v7) data products.
• Data processing adheres to the GHRSST Data Processing Specification (GDS) version 2 format.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and total data size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with instrument provided by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA).

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the AMSR-E instrument on the Aqua spacecraft, processed by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS).

Time Range

Data collection began after the instrument's launch on 4 May 2002; specific temporal coverage is not detailed.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:41:23.868551; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean coverage.