MODIS Seasonal Sea Surface Temperature Means for Australian Waters, 2002-2017

Seasonal mean sea surface temperature (SST) data derived from NASA MODIS (Aqua) satellite imagery. The dataset covers the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone and surrounding waters, including the Southern Ocean, from July 2002 to December 2017. This research was supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub and processed by Geoscience Australia.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean climate change based on 15 years of seasonal SST data.
• Analyzing seasonal temperature anomalies in the Australian EEZ and Southern Ocean.
• Correlating marine biodiversity shifts with seasonal sea surface temperature means.

Strengths

• Data spans over 15 years, from July 2002 to December 2017.
• Spatial coverage includes the entire Australian EEZ and the Southern Ocean.
• Derived from MODIS (Aqua) satellite imagery using NASA's SeaDAS software, suggesting a standardized processing chain.

Limitations

• Row count and specific column definitions are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality and spatial resolution require manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Derived from MODIS (Aqua) images using NASA's SeaDAS image processing software.

Time Range

July 2002 to December 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 03:58:09.012764; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian Exclusive Economic Zone and surrounding waters, including the Southern Ocean.