AMSR2/GCOM-W: Global Subskin Sea Surface Temperature

GHRSST Level 3U data provides global subskin sea surface temperature measurements from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) instrument onboard the GCOM-W satellite. The dataset includes both near-real-time products, available within approximately 3 hours of observation, and final archive-quality products processed with NCEP FNL analysis. AMSR2's conical scan mechanism achieves more than 99% Earth coverage every 2 days from an altitude of about 700 km.

Use Cases

• Monitoring global sea surface temperature anomalies for climate research based on the satellite's twice-daily global coverage.
• Assimilating near-real-time SST data into weather and ocean forecasting models based on the 3-hour latency product.
• Studying interactions between SST and atmospheric variables like water vapor and wind speed based on the multi-parameter sensor capabilities.
• Validating and calibrating other satellite-derived ocean temperature products based on the GHRSST project's standardized processing.

Strengths

• Provides global coverage of more than 99% of the Earth's surface every 2 days due to the instrument's 1450 km swath.
• Offers two processing tiers: near-real-time data with approximately 3-hour latency and final archive-quality data (version 8) refined with NCEP wind analysis.
• Continues a long-term observational record by succeeding the Aqua/AMSR-E mission, launched on 18 May 2012.

Limitations

• Critical metadata such as specific column names, row counts, and exact file sizes are unavailable across all platform entries.
• The license is ambiguously noted as 'other-license-specified' without further detail.
• Platform entries show conflicts in update timestamps and completeness of administrative metadata.

Provenance

Source

Remote Sensing Systems (RSS/REMSS) processing data from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) GCOM-W satellite AMSR2 instrument for the GHRSST Project.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via microwave radiometry, with data processed in two stages for near-real-time and final products.

Time Range

Covers the period from the AMSR2 instrument launch on 18 May 2012 onward.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-04-10 according to two platform entries, though other entries lack this information.

Geography

Global coverage.