IMOS Multi-Sensor Sea Surface Temperature Monthly Averages for Australia Region

A one-month composite of sea surface temperature (SST) data derived from VIIRS and AVHRR satellite sensors. The product is a 0.02-degree resolution map covering 70E to 170W and 20N to 70S, produced by the Australian Ocean Data Network. Each grid cell contains a monthly average of the highest quality SST observations, weighted by sensor overlap area.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean heat content based on multi-sensor satellite-derived SST composites.
• Analyzing regional sea surface temperature anomalies based on the 0.02-degree resolution gridded data.
• Validating climate models using quality-controlled SST observations from polar-orbiting satellites.
• Studying diurnal warming effects based on day and night time observations with different wind speed thresholds.

Strengths

• Integrates data from multiple satellite sensors (VIIRS on Suomi-NPP/JPSS and AVHRR on NOAA/Metop).
• Provides data at a 0.02-degree spatial resolution over a large region (70E to 170W, 20N to 70S).
• Applies quality control using Sensor Specific Error Statistics (SSES) and wind speed thresholds.
• Data is composited as a one-month average, providing a temporally aggregated product.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Freshness should be verified; last metadata update is 2026-07-13 20:39:32.348982.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network (via data.gov.au), referencing IMOS (Integrated Marine Observing System).

Collection Method

Derived from satellite retrievals (VIIRS, AVHRR) processed into Level 3 Super-collated (L3S) products.

Time Range

One-month periods (specific dates not provided in input).

Geography

70E to 170W, 20N to 70S (encompassing waters around Australia and the Southern Ocean).