ERSST v5: Global Sea Surface Temperature Reconstruction Since 1854

A historical reconstruction of monthly global ocean surface temperatures and anomalies on a 2-degree spatial grid since 1854. The dataset is produced by NOAA using in-situ observations and a consistent statistical methodology to account for uneven sampling. Version 5 incorporates improved input sources like Argo floats and ICOADS R3.0, and enhanced methodologies for better representation of El Niño and La Niña events.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term global warming trends based on the reconstructed sea surface temperature time series since 1854.
• Studying the spatial structure and magnitude of El Niño and La Niña events based on the improved methodologies in version 5.
• Investigating historical ocean temperature anomalies relative to the 1971-2000 climatology.
• Assessing data uncertainty for climate models using the provided estimated SST error standard deviation fields.

Strengths

• Provides a continuous, monthly global reconstruction since 1854, covering over 150 years.
• Implements improved methodologies in version 5, including bias correction to modern buoy observations and less spatial-temporal smoothing.
• Incorporates new data sources like Argo floats and updated versions of foundational datasets (ICOADS R3.0, HadISST2).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific analytical needs.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Reconstructed from in-situ observations (ICOADS, GTS, Argo floats) using a statistical methodology (EOT analysis) to account for uneven sampling.

Time Range

Since 1854

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 19:50:57.644635; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean on a 2-degree spatial grid