IMOS Himawari-8 L3C: Hourly Sea Surface Temperature for Australasia

A regional GHRSST Level 3 collated dataset provides sea surface temperature (SSTskin) on a 0.02-degree grid over the Australasian domain (70E to 190E, 70S to 20N). The Bureau of Meteorology produces this product using retrievals from the AHI imager on the Himawari-8 satellite, compositing hourly data with priority given to the highest quality and most recent observations. The dataset is compliant with the GHRSST Data Specification version 2 and includes both real-time and reprocessed delayed-mode products.

Use Cases

• Modeling diurnal sea surface temperature cycles based on hourly composited data.
• Analyzing regional ocean heat content and climate patterns based on the 0.02-degree grid over the Australasian domain.
• Validating oceanographic and atmospheric models using GHRSST-compliant satellite-derived SSTskin data.
• Monitoring marine heatwave events based on high-temporal-resolution, reprocessed SST observations.

Strengths

• Data is produced on a high-resolution 0.02-degree grid covering a large Australasian domain from 70E to 190E and 70S to 20N.
• Product generation uses a defined methodology including the Radiative Transfer Model (RTTOV12.3) and a Bayesian cloud clearing method.
• The dataset is compliant with the international GHRSST Data Specification (GDS) version 2, promoting interoperability.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale machine learning tasks.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the Himawari-8 satellite's coverage of the Australasian domain.

Provenance

Source

Bureau of Meteorology, produced for the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS).

Collection Method

SST retrievals from the AHI imager on the Himawari-8 satellite, processed using RTTOV12.3 and a Bayesian cloud clearing method, then composited hourly.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 19:56:45.686068; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australasian domain (70E to 190E, 70S to 20N).