MODIS Aqua Satellite: Global Sea Surface Temperature Grids

Annual, monthly, weekly, and daily global sea surface temperature (SST) data from 2002 onward, derived from the NASA Aqua satellite's MODIS instrument. The dataset includes two SST products: a skin SST for day and night, and a lower-uncertainty SST4 product available only at night. Data is processed by the NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group and algorithm development is led by researchers at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

Use Cases

• Monitor long-term ocean warming trends based on annual and monthly SST averages.
• Analyze diurnal temperature variations based on the separate day and night skin SST products.
• Validate other SST models using the lower-uncertainty SST4 product derived from mid-infrared channels.
• Study regional ocean heat content based on spatially gridded data at 4.63 km and 9.26 km resolutions.

Strengths

• Provides two distinct SST products: a general skin SST and a specialized SST4 with lower uncertainty.
• Offers data at multiple temporal aggregations: daily, weekly (8-day), monthly, and annual.
• Spatial resolution options include both 4.63 km and 9.26 km grids.
• Data continuity is ensured through a modified nonlinear SST algorithm intended to bridge heritage and current NASA sensors.

Limitations

• The SST4 product, which has lower uncertainty, is only usable at night due to sun glint contamination.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

SST derived from 36 spectral bands captured by the MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite, binned and mapped into gridded products.

Time Range

Data collection began after the Aqua satellite launch on May 4, 2002.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:27:02.714379; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global