Australian Sea Surface Temperature Satellite Data: 6-Day Daytime Average

A 0.02° x 0.02° cylindrical equidistant projected map of sea surface temperature (SSTskin) for the region 70°E to 170°W, 20°N to 70°S. The product is derived from AVHRR instruments on NOAA polar-orbiting satellites and provides a 6-day average of daytime SSTs weighted by overlap area. Production of this single-sensor product ceased in June 2025 due to the decommissioning of NOAA-18.

Use Cases

• Analyze regional ocean warming trends based on the 6-day averaged SSTskin data.
• Validate oceanographic models using the product's reported 2014 biases of <0.3°C and standard deviations of 0.7°C.
• Monitor coastal temperature anomalies using the high-resolution 0.02° grid over Australian waters.

Strengths

• Spatial resolution is 0.02° x 0.02°, providing detailed regional coverage.
• Data quality is documented with 2014 matchup biases of <0.3°C and standard deviations of 0.7°C.
• Coverage spans a large region from 70°E to 170°W, 20°N to 70°S.

Limitations

• Production ceased in June 2025; data is historical and not updated.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Derived from AVHRR instruments on NOAA polar-orbiting satellites.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 23:02:26.833565; freshness should be verified.

Geography

70°E to 170°W, 20°N to 70°S