GHRSST Level 2P: NOAA-20 VIIRS Sea Surface Temperature at 0.75 km Resolution

NOAA-20 satellite data provides sea surface temperature (SST) measurements at a native sensor resolution of approximately 0.75 km at nadir. The product is generated by NOAA's Advanced Clear-Sky Processor for Ocean (ACSPO) system, reported in 10-minute granules compliant with GHRSST standards, and validated against in situ data. Version 2.80 includes algorithm improvements such as added thermal front layers and mitigated warm biases in high latitudes.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean-atmosphere heat exchange based on high-resolution sea surface temperature data.
• Monitoring thermal fronts and oceanographic features using the added thermal front layers.
• Validating satellite SST algorithms against in situ data using the reported Sensor-Specific Error Statistics.
• Assessing diurnal temperature cycles using the day/night flags included in the pixel-level data.

Strengths

• High spatial resolution of approximately 0.75 km at nadir, providing detailed SST mapping.
• Includes pixel-level quality flags and Sensor-Specific Error Statistics (SSES) for confident clear-sky pixels.
• Algorithm improvements in version 2.80, such as mitigated warm biases in high latitudes.
• Monitored and validated against in situ data via NOAA's iQuam and SQUAM systems.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, via the NOAA Joint Polar Satellite System.

Collection Method

Derived from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) brightness temperatures using Non-Linear SST algorithms and processed by the ACSPO system.

Time Range

Coverage begins after the NOAA-20 satellite launch on November 18, 2017.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:40:59.570289; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean coverage from the NOAA-20 satellite's polar orbit.