VIIRS NSST: Nighttime Sea Surface Temperature from Suomi-NPP

Suomi-NPP VIIRS provides global nighttime sea surface temperature estimates at 750m nadir resolution from thermal infrared observations. The dataset includes a quality flag for each temperature measurement and is designed for near real-time delivery, though inputs may be suboptimal. It is the successor to MODIS for Earth science data products.

Use Cases

• Detecting ocean fronts based on thermal gradients in nighttime SST.
• Supporting fisheries habitat models when paired with chlorophyll-a and PAR data.
• Providing stable inputs for air-sea flux and climate trend analyses.
• Monitoring sea surface temperature anomalies using near real-time quicklook products.

Strengths

• Provides data from 22 spectral bands, including a dedicated day-night band.
• Spatial resolution is 750m at nadir for moderate-resolution bands.
• Cross-platform presence on datagov and nasa_earthdata signals importance.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low; column names, row counts, and author are unknown.
• Uncertainties increase under thin clouds, heavy aerosols, or strong thermal gradients.
• Near real-time quicklook products use less-than-optimal ancillary data and calibration.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP).

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the VIIRS instrument, with data processed by the Ocean Biology DAAC.

Freshness

Last updated on datagov: 2026-04-09.

Geography

Global coverage.