SNPP/VIIRS Sea Surface Temperature and Ocean Colour Data for Australian Waters

IMOS provides a satellite-derived Sea Surface Temperature product from the SNPP/VIIRS sensor. The data is derived from VIIRS 11 and 12 micron spectral bands and is contemporaneous with water leaving radiances used to derive optical properties like chlorophyll. This dataset matches the Chl_oci product in temporal and spatial extent and covers waters around Australia.

Use Cases

• Model Net Primary Productivity variants based on the contemporaneous SST and optical properties mentioned in the description.
• Analyze ocean color and temperature correlations based on the matching cloud mask and simultaneous measurement.
• Study regional oceanographic patterns around Australia based on the stated geographic coverage.

Strengths

• Data is contemporaneous with optical property measurements, enabling combined analysis.
• Product has a matching cloud mask with optical property data.
• Dataset covers waters around Australia, providing regional specificity.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The product is not GHRSST-quality; demanding applications requiring high accuracy should use other IMOS GHRSST products.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Derived from VIIRS 11 and 12 micron spectral bands according to a NASA algorithm.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-06 02:37:38.158737; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Waters around Australia