Daily Blended Sea Surface Temperature Analysis for North American Oceans

GHRSST Level 4 analysis provides daily sea surface temperature data on a 0.011-degree grid for oceans off North and Central America (62N-20S, 165W-30W). The dataset is a blended composite of daytime skin SST from NASA's MODIS Terra satellite and subskin SST from the AMSRE instrument, produced operationally by the JPL Physical Oceanography DAAC. It represents one of four unique sensor/day-night composites generated for this region.

Use Cases

• Analyzing daily sea surface temperature anomalies and trends for climate research.
• Validating and initializing regional oceanographic and atmospheric forecast models.
• Studying the spatial patterns of SST gradients and fronts in the North American basin.
• Comparing skin temperature measurements from MODIS with subskin measurements from AMSRE.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution data on a 0.011-degree grid (~1.2 km).
• Blends measurements from two distinct satellite sensors (MODIS and AMSRE) for improved coverage.
• Generated daily on an operational basis, supporting time-series analysis.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2012-09 13 vs. 2026-03-05), creating uncertainty about data currency.
• The algorithm does not correct for differences between skin and foundation temperature, categorizing it as a 'blended' product.

Provenance

Source

JPL Physical Oceanography DAAC (PO.DAAC), using data from NASA's MODIS Terra and AMSRE instruments.

Collection Method

Daily operational analysis using weighted averages to composite GHRSST L2P skin SST (MODIS) and subskin SST (AMSRE) observations.

Time Range

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Freshness

2026-03-05 23:25:36.422672

Geography

Oceans off North and Central America (62N - 20S, 165W - 30W).