GHRSST Level 2P: NOAA VIIRS Satellite Sea Surface Temperature Data

Global sea surface temperature measurements derived from the VIIRS sensor aboard the Suomi NPP satellite, launched on 28 October 2011. The data is produced by NOAA using the Advanced Clear-Sky Processor for Ocean (ACSPO) system and reported in 10-minute granules at a native resolution of approximately 0.75 km. This version 2.80 dataset includes algorithm improvements such as added thermal front layers and mitigated warm biases in high latitudes.

Use Cases

• Monitoring global ocean temperature anomalies based on high-resolution satellite-derived SST.
• Validating climate and weather forecast models using the per-pixel Sensor-Specific Error Statistics (SSES).
• Studying thermal ocean fronts based on the added thermal front layers mentioned in the description.
• Assessing clear-sky ocean conditions using the provided ACSPO clear-sky mask (ACSM) and quality flags.

Strengths

• High spatial resolution of approximately 0.75 km at nadir, providing detailed SST measurements.
• Includes per-pixel quality flags for clear-sky, day/night, land, ice, twilight, and glint conditions.
• Monitored and validated against in situ data via NOAA's iQuam and SQUAM systems.
• Compliant with the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) Data Specification version 2 (GDS2).

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.
• Data may reflect geographic or temporal bias inherent to the satellite's orbit and clear-sky masking.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) via the datagov platform, with NOAA responsible for product generation.

Collection Method

Derived from VIIRS Brightness Temperatures using Non-Linear SST (NLSST) algorithms and processed by NOAA's ACSPO system.

Time Range

Coverage starts from the Suomi NPP satellite launch on 28 October 2011; specific end date is not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:41:04.482714; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage from the polar-orbiting Suomi NPP satellite.