MODIS Terra: Global Sea Surface Temperature 8-Day Nighttime Averages at 9km

NASA's Terra satellite, launched December 18, 1999, provides global sea surface temperature (SST) data from its MODIS instrument. The dataset includes 8-day averaged nighttime SST products at a 9.26 km spatial resolution, derived from both long-wave and unique mid-infrared channels. It is processed by the NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group and distributed as part of the Physical Oceanography Data Archive.

Use Cases

• Modeling global ocean heat flux and climate patterns based on spatially gridded skin sea surface temperature.
• Validating other satellite or in-situ SST measurements based on the lower-uncertainty nighttime SST4 product.
• Studiating diurnal and seasonal sea surface temperature cycles based on the availability of both day and night observations.
• Analyzing long-term SST trends for climate research based on data continuity with heritage NASA sensors.

Strengths

• Data continuity is provided via a modified nonlinear SST algorithm intended to match heritage and current NASA sensors.
• Includes a unique nighttime SST4 product derived from mid-infrared channels with lower uncertainty.
• Spatial resolution is explicitly defined at 9.26 km for the 8-day composite product.
• Processed and distributed by authoritative NASA entities (OBPG, PO.DAAC at JPL).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The SST4 product is limited to nighttime observations only due to sun glint interference.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG)

Collection Method

Spatially gridded (L3) products generated by binning L2 pixels from the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite into an integerized sinusoidal area grid.

Time Range

Coverage begins after Terra's launch in 1999; specific temporal range for this version is not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:54:38.141688; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean coverage.