NOAA-20 VIIRS: Global Sea Surface Temperature Near Real-time Data

NOAA-20 VIIRS Level-3 binned data provides global sea surface temperature measurements at 11µm for day and night conditions. The Ocean Biology DAAC at NASA produces this near real-time version using the best-available ancillary meteorological and ozone data, though the calibration is noted as less than optimal. This quicklook product offers a snapshot of data from within a single orbit.

Use Cases

• Monitor near real-time global sea surface temperature anomalies based on the 11µm day/night measurements.
• Validate or supplement climate and weather forecasting models with satellite-derived temperature data.
• Study diurnal temperature variations in ocean surfaces using the day and night data products.
• Assess the impact of short-term meteorological events on ocean temperature based on the quicklook snapshot data.

Strengths

• Produced by NASA's Ocean Biology DAAC, an authoritative source for oceanographic satellite data.
• Provides near real-time (NRT) data, offering timely snapshots for monitoring.
• Global spatial coverage for sea surface temperature observations.

Limitations

• The description notes the calibration and ancillary inputs are 'less than optimal' for this quicklook product.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the NOAA-20 VIIRS instrument, processed and binned by the Ocean Biology DAAC.

Time Range

Near real-time (NRT), providing data snapshots from short time periods within single orbits.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:17:38.289351; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global