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

Geospatial time series data mapping the East Australian Current (EAC) using Himawari-8 satellite sea surface temperature (SST) observations from July 2015 to September 2017. The dataset was created by researchers from Geoscience Australia and published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans in 2020. It captures the spatial structure and temporal evolution of the EAC's meanders, eddies, and encroachment patterns using a Topographic Position Index method.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the spatial variability of the EAC's meanders and offshoots based on mapped SST signatures.
• Investigating the temporal evolution of eddy-shedding events based on the documented 65-100 day timescales.
• Studying seasonal cycles in current encroachment based on the described stronger summer and weaker winter patterns.
• Relating SST signatures to surface current speeds based on the described 60% overlap ratio with model data.
• Mapping powerful summer pulses of the EAC off the Tasmanian coast based on the described boundary flow seasonality.

Strengths

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

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 temporal bias inherent to the specific 2015-2017 study period.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data, based on research published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.

Collection Method

Derived from Himawari-8 satellite SST data using a Topographic Position Index (TPI) mapping method.

Time Range

July 2015 to September 2017.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-25 19:04:05.086768; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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