NOAA-20 VIIRS: Global Mapped Daytime Sea Surface Temperature

Global daytime sea surface temperature data derived from the Visible and Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on the NOAA-20 satellite. The dataset is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and was last updated in March 2026. VIIRS is the successor to MODIS and has 22 spectral bands, including 16 moderate-resolution and 5 image-resolution bands.

Use Cases

• Modeling ocean-atmosphere heat exchange based on 11µm infrared radiance measurements.
• Monitoring global and regional sea surface temperature anomalies based on daily satellite observations.
• Calibrating and validating climate models based on consistent, satellite-derived temperature data.
• Studying marine heatwave events based on time-series analysis of mapped temperature data.

Strengths

• Data originates from the VIIRS instrument, a successor to MODIS with 22 spectral bands.
• Provides global mapped coverage, suggesting consistent spatial representation.
• Last updated in March 2026, indicating recent maintenance.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and data volume are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is limited to daytime observations at the 11µm wavelength.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the VIIRS instrument on the NOAA-20 spacecraft.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:17:12.426752.

Geography

Global