MODIS Terra: Monthly Sea Surface Temperature at 9km Resolution

NASA MODIS Terra satellite data provides global skin sea surface temperature (SST) measurements. The dataset includes daytime monthly averages at a 9.26 km spatial resolution, derived from thermal infrared channels using a modified nonlinear SST algorithm. The data is processed by the NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group and distributed by the Physical Oceanography Data Archive (PO.DAAC) as version R2019.0.

Use Cases

• Modeling global ocean heat flux and climate patterns based on spatially gridded monthly skin SST.
• Analyzing long-term sea surface temperature trends based on the dataset's time-series nature and global coverage.
• Calibrating other satellite-derived SST products based on the algorithm continuity mentioned for heritage NASA sensors.
• Studying diurnal temperature variation by comparing the available daytime products with referenced nighttime SST4 measurements.

Strengths

• Data is sourced from the NASA MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite, launched in 1999.
• Products are available at multiple temporal resolutions: daily, weekly (8-day), monthly, and annual.
• Includes two SST products: skin SST for day/night and a lower-uncertainty SST4 product for night-only observations.
• Spatial resolution is explicitly defined as 9.26 km for this product.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Terra satellite. L2 pixels are binned and mapped into specific projections to generate Level 3 products.

Time Range

Temporal coverage is not explicitly stated, but the Terra satellite was launched in 1999.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:53:30.084118; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage.