GHRSST North Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature from NOAA-16 AVHRR

GHRSST Level 2P North Atlantic Regional Bulk Sea Surface Temperature dataset provides sea surface temperature fields derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer on the NOAA-16 satellite. The data is produced by the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility. It consists of mosaics remapped onto a stereopolar grid at 2 km resolution.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spatial patterns of sea surface temperature in the North Atlantic region using the 2 km resolution gridded data.
• Studying diurnal or seasonal temperature cycles from time-series observations collected twice daily by the sun-synchronous satellite.
• Validating ocean circulation or climate models with bulk sea surface temperature measurements derived from AVHRR's 11 and 12 micron channels.
• Applying cloud-masked data for clear-sky ocean temperature analysis using the multi-spectral thresholding algorithm.

Strengths

• Data is produced by a major operational facility (EUMETSAT OSI SAF), indicating a standardized processing chain.
• Provides high-resolution data with a ground resolution of 1.1 km at nadir, remapped to 2 km mosaics for the North Atlantic Region.
• Utilizes a long-legacy sensor platform (AVHRR) with an operational history tracing back to 1978.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided by any source, limiting detailed assessment.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between sources (2005-11-22 and 2026-03-06), creating uncertainty about data currency.
• The license information is unknown, which may restrict clear understanding of usage rights.

Provenance

Source

European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF).

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on the NOAA-16 platform, with data processed through direct broadcast High Resolution Picture Transmission and remapped onto a stereopolar grid.

Time Range

Data collection began after the NOAA-16 satellite launch on 21 September 2000; specific end date is not provided.

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:17:00.381634

Geography

North Atlantic Region.