GHRSST AMSR2: Global Near-Real-Time Sea Surface Temperature from Satellite

Near-real-time global sea surface temperature data derived from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) on the GCOM-W satellite, with a latency generally within 3 hours. The instrument, launched on 18 May 2012, provides more than 99% coverage of the Earth every 2 days via a 1450 km swath. This version 8.2 dataset is produced by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) for the GHRSST Project and supersedes the previous v8a version.

Use Cases

• Monitor global ocean warming trends based on near-real-time sea surface temperature measurements.
• Validate and calibrate climate models using satellite-derived temperature data with high Earth coverage.
• Study diurnal temperature cycles using the dataset's daytime and nighttime acquisition capability.
• Analyze short-term oceanic phenomena like eddies or upwelling events due to the 3-hour latency.

Strengths

• Provides near-real-time data with a latency generally within 3 hours.
• Offers more than 99% coverage of the Earth's surface every 2 days.
• Continues a long-term observation mission (GCOM-W) launched in May 2012, supporting climate studies.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration; data derived by Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) from the AMSR2 instrument on JAXA's GCOM-W satellite.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2), which measures microwave emission with a conical scan over a 1450 km swath.

Time Range

Data collection began after the instrument's launch on 18 May 2012; the dataset provides ongoing near-real-time observations.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:33:14.833082; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage of Earth's oceans.