GHRSST TMI: Global Subskin Sea Surface Temperature from TRMM Satellite

Tropical regions between 38°S and 38°N are covered by this sea surface temperature dataset. It contains microwave-derived subskin SST measurements from the TRMM satellite's TMI instrument, launched in 1997. Remote Sensing Systems produced the dataset for GHRSST using an algorithm on the 10.7 GHz channel to remove surface roughness effects.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean-atmosphere heat exchange based on microwave-derived sea surface temperature
• Studying tropical climate variability based on SST data collected through clouds
• Calibrating or validating infrared SST products based on cloud-penetrating microwave retrievals
• Analyzing diurnal SST cycles based on the satellite's varying observation times

Strengths

• Data is derived from a well-calibrated passive microwave radiometer (TMI) as stated in the description
• Microwave retrievals can measure SST through clouds, which are nearly transparent at 10.7 GHz
• Measurements are insensitive to water vapor and aerosols, as noted in the description
• Dataset is produced for the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST)

Limitations

• Geographic coverage is limited to tropical regions between 38°S and 38°N
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), with processing by Remote Sensing Systems using a described algorithm.

Time Range

Data collection began after the TRMM satellite launch on 27 November 1997.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:33:19.020175; freshness should be verified

Geography

Global coverage within tropical regions, specifically between 38°S and 38°N latitude.