IMOS SST: One-Month Average Sea Surface Temperature for Australia from NOAA Satellites

A one-month average of sea surface skin temperature (SSTskin) derived from daytime observations by NOAA polar-orbiting satellites with AVHRR instruments. The product is a 0.02° x 0.02° gridded map covering 70°E to 170°W, 20°N to 70°S, produced by the Australian Ocean Data Network. Production of this single-sensor product ceased in June 2025.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean heat content and climate patterns based on gridded sea surface temperature averages.
• Validating satellite-derived SST products against in-situ buoy observations as referenced in the description.
• Analyzing spatial temperature gradients in the Australian region based on the 0.02-degree resolution map.
• Studying the skin layer of the ocean surface using the SSTskin product derived from AVHRR instruments.

Strengths

• Product validation indicates typical 2014 biases of less than 0.3°C and standard deviations of 0.7°C against buoy observations.
• Data is provided on a consistent 0.02° x 0.02° cylindrical equidistant grid over a defined region.
• Each grid cell contains a weighted average of the highest quality SSTs, as described.

Limitations

• Production ceased in June 2025; data is not current beyond that date.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset covers only daytime periods and a single month of consecutive observations.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Derived from observations by AVHRR instruments on NOAA polar-orbiting satellites.

Time Range

Covers one month of consecutive daytime periods; specific month not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-10 02:38:51.470339; freshness should be verified as data production ceased in 2025.

Geography

70°E to 170°W, 20°N to 70°S (region encompassing Australia).