East Australian Current Sea Surface Temperature Maps from Himawari-8, 2015-2017

Xie et al. (2020) produced a quantitative mapping of the East Australian Current (EAC) using Himawari-8 satellite sea surface temperature (SST) data. The dataset covers the period from July 2015 to September 2017 and maps the EAC's spatial structure, meanders, eddies, and encroachment patterns using a Topographic Position Index method. The study relates SST signatures to surface current speeds and analyzes temporal variability on eddy-shedding and seasonal timescales.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the spatial and temporal evolution of the EAC's meanders and eddies based on the described SST signature mapping.
• Investigating seasonal cycles in current encroachment strength, particularly the stronger summer pulses off Tasmania mentioned in the description.
• Studying the relationship between sea surface temperature signatures and surface current speeds, given the reported ~60% overlap area ratio.
• Examining eddy-shedding timescales (65-100 days) and the 'encroach and accelerate' vs. 'encroach and decay' modes described for the EAC.

Strengths

• Uses Himawari-8 SST data with very high spatiotemporal resolution, enabling mapping of highly dynamic ocean features.
• Covers a defined 26-month study period from July 2015 to September 2017.
• Method validated against an eddy-resolving, data-assimilating numerical ocean model.
• Quantifies temporal variability with specific eddy-shedding timescales (65-100 days) and observes a seasonal cycle.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the study region off the southeast coast of Australia and Tasmania.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, associated with the published research by Xie, S., Huang, Z., Wang, X. H., & Leplastrier, A. (2020).

Collection Method

Derived from Himawari-8 satellite sea surface temperature data, processed using a Topographic Position Index (TPI) mapping method.

Time Range

July 2015 to September 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 07:21:33.092112; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southeast coast of Australia, the East Australian Current path, and the eastern coast of Tasmania.