Sea Surface Temperature Maps from NOAA Satellites, 0.02 Degree Resolution

Single-sensor sea surface temperature (SSTfnd) data derived from NOAA polar-orbiting satellites' AVHRR instruments. The product is a 24-hour average map with a 0.02-degree grid over the region 70°E to 170°W, 20°N to 70°S, created by the Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN). Each grid cell contains a weighted average of the highest quality SST observations overlapping that cell.

Use Cases

• Model ocean heat content and climate patterns based on daily SST averages.
• Validate satellite-derived SST algorithms using the described bias and standard deviation metrics.
• Analyze regional temperature anomalies over the specified 70°E to 170°W, 20°N to 70°S area.
• Study diurnal temperature variations using the day and night time observation processing rules.

Strengths

• Grid resolution is explicitly stated as 0.02 degrees.
• Processing includes quality filtering, rejecting observations with low surface wind speeds (<6m/s by day and <2m/s at night).
• Matchups with buoy observations indicate typical 2014 biases of < 0.01 degC and standard deviations of 0.6 degC.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN)

Collection Method

Derived from observations by AVHRR instruments on NOAA polar-orbiting satellites.

Time Range

Single 24-hour period.

Geography

70°E to 170°W, 20°N to 70°S.