IMOS SST L3C: Night-Time Sea Surface Temperature Maps for the Southern Ocean

Night-time sea surface temperature (SSTskin) maps derived from NOAA-XX satellite AVHRR observations. The product covers the Southern Ocean from 3°E to 158°W and 27°S to 78°S, with a 0.02° x 0.02° grid resolution. Matchups with buoy data indicate typical 2014 biases of less than 0.05°C and standard deviations of 0.5°C to 0.6°C for NOAA-18 and NOAA-19.

Use Cases

• Monitor diurnal temperature variations in the Southern Ocean based on the exclusive use of night-time satellite passes.
• Validate and calibrate satellite sea surface temperature algorithms based on reported biases and standard deviations against buoy data.
• Study regional oceanographic processes using the high-resolution (0.02°) gridded temperature maps for the Southern Ocean region.
• Integrate Level-3 collated SST data into larger climate models based on its defined role within the GHRSST product suite.

Strengths

• Provides a defined spatial coverage from 3°E to 158°W and 27°S to 78°S over the Southern Ocean.
• Offers a specific grid resolution of 0.02 degrees by 0.02 degrees.
• Cites concrete validation metrics, including biases under 0.05°C and standard deviations of 0.5-0.6°C for 2014.
• Product lineage is documented with references to the IMOS SST products page and Beggs et al. (2013).

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.
• Data is limited to night-time observations, which excludes diurnal warming signals captured during the day.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN) / Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS).

Collection Method

Derived from observations by the AVHRR instrument on NOAA-XX satellites, processed into a Level-3 collated (L3C) product.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 15:36:50.448295; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southern Ocean region: 3°E to 158°W, 27°S to 78°S.