IMOS SST L3S: Multi-Sensor Sea Surface Temperature for the Southern Ocean

IMOS provides a multi-sensor Level 3 Super-collated sea surface temperature product for a one-month period. The data is derived from VIIRS and AVHRR sensors on satellites including Suomi-NPP, JPSS, NOAA, and Metop, processed onto a 0.02-degree grid. The Australian Ocean Data Network hosts this dataset, which was last updated in July 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean heat content based on multi-sensor satellite-derived sea surface temperature composites.
• Analyzing spatial temperature patterns in the Southern Ocean based on the 0.02-degree gridded data.
• Studying sensor-specific error characteristics for satellite SST retrievals based on the referenced SSES methodology.
• Investigating the impact of surface wind speed thresholds on SST observations as described in the processing steps.

Strengths

• Integrates data from multiple satellite sensors (VIIRS on Suomi-NPP/JPSS and AVHRR on NOAA/Metop) for a consolidated view.
• Provides data on a defined 0.02-degree by 0.02-degree cylindrical equidistant grid over a specific region (3E to 158W, 27S to 78S).
• Applies quality control using Sensor Specific Error Statistics (SSES) and remaps original quality levels as referenced in Griffin et al. (2017).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last updated 2026-07-13 19:56:10.498916; freshness should be verified.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network (host), data derived from IMOS (Integrated Marine Observing System) satellite processing.

Collection Method

Derived from sea surface temperature retrievals from VIIRS and AVHRR sensors, composited and averaged over one month.

Time Range

Covers a one-month period (specific dates not provided in input).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 19:56:10.498916

Geography

Southern Ocean region from 3E to 158W longitude and 27S to 78S latitude.