MODIS Seasonal Sea Surface Temperature Means for Australian Waters

Australian EEZ and surrounding waters are covered by this dataset of long-term seasonal sea surface temperature means. The data are derived from MODIS Aqua satellite images processed with NASA SeaDAS software, using monthly SST images from July 2002 to December 2017. This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub.

Use Cases

• Analyze seasonal warming and cooling trends in the Southern Ocean based on austral seasonal means.
• Model marine ecosystem responses to seasonal temperature changes based on long-term SST averages.
• Validate regional climate models against satellite-derived seasonal SST observations.
• Assess temperature anomalies by comparing current conditions to the 2002-2017 seasonal baseline.

Strengths

• Data spans 15 years from July 2002 to December 2017.
• Geographic extent covers the entire Australian EEZ and surrounding waters, including the Southern Ocean.
• Derived from MODIS Aqua satellite imagery using NASA's SeaDAS processing software.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data freshness should be verified as the last update timestamp is 2026-04-16.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Derived from MODIS Aqua images using NASA SeaDAS software.

Time Range

July 2002 to December 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 16:30:15.005273; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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