Himawari-8 Satellite Sea Surface Temperature Data for Australian Ocean Phenomena

Himawari-8 satellite data provides high-frequency (10-minute) and high-resolution (~2km) sea surface temperature (SST) observations. The dataset was used in a 2019 presentation to investigate dynamic oceanographic phenomena along the Australian coast, including the Bonney Coast upwelling, the East Australian Current, and Madden-Julian Oscillation diurnal variations. The analysis covered periods including the summer of 2016–17 and from July 2015 to September 2017.

Use Cases

• Monitoring upwelling events based on area, temperature, and duration metrics described for the Bonney Coast.
• Analyzing seasonal and intra-seasonal variations of the East Australian Current based on its mapped encroachment into coastal areas.
• Studying diurnal SST variations correlated with Madden-Julian Oscillation phases and surface wind speed.
• Investigating the relationship between short-wave latent heat flux and diurnal sea surface temperature cycles.

Strengths

• High temporal resolution of 10-minute observations enables tracking of rapid oceanic changes.
• High spatial resolution of approximately 2 kilometers allows for detailed regional analysis.
• Analysis covers specific, multi-year time ranges (e.g., July 2015 to September 2017) for longitudinal study.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data.gov.au

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing from the Himawari-8 geostationary satellite.

Time Range

Includes analysis from July 2015 to September 2017, with focus on summer seasons.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-17 01:00:14.016555; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Focus on Australian coastal regions, including the Bonney Coast, northern New South Wales, eastern Tasmania, and the northwest shelf.