GHRSST Global Sea Surface Temperature from MetOp-A AVHRR

The GHRSST Level 3P dataset provides global subskin sea surface temperature (SST) measurements derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on the MetOp-A satellite. It is produced by the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF). Data from the satellite's infrared channels are processed with a cloud mask and remapped onto a global 0.02-degree equal-angle grid.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global sea surface temperature patterns and anomalies using the gridded SST fields.
• Studying diurnal and seasonal ocean warming cycles from twice-daily satellite observations.
• Validating ocean and climate models with satellite-derived skin temperature measurements.
• Investigating ocean-atmosphere heat fluxes using high-resolution SST data.

Strengths

• Data originates from the well-established AVHRR instrument series with an operational legacy dating back to 1978.
• SST fields are derived from 1 km resolution data and remapped to a consistent 0.02-degree global grid.
• The MetOp-A platform's wide swath (~2400 km) provides global coverage, viewing most locations twice daily.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided by any source platform.
• Sources conflict on the last update date, reporting both 2013-07-03 and 2026-03-05.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

SST is retrieved from AVHRR infrared channels using a multispectral algorithm applied to Level 1b data acquired via the EUMETCAST system, with a cloud mask applied.

Time Range

Coverage begins with the MetOp-A satellite launch on 19 October 2006; end date is unspecified.

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:06:26.078454

Geography

Global coverage.