National Aeronautics and Space Administration official home page

 

University of Rhode Island official home page

 

Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island official home page

 

Other Data Portals:

Sea Surface TemperatureSea surface temperature field for the western North Atlantic showing the Gulf Stream off the eastern coast of the United States

Sea Surface HeightSea Surface Height field of the eastern Pacific Ocean showing a strong El Nino.

Ocean Surface WindsSurface ocean wind field under a hurricane.

Ocean ColorChlorophyll field of the North and South Atlantic.

Ocean Surface PrecipitationRainfall intensity near the center of Hurricane Katrina shows areas of deep convection where latent heat is being released into the storm.

Other Ocean DataAverage distribution of water vapor in January 2003, measured from the Earth's surface to the top of the atmosphere.

Sea surface temperature field for the western North Atlantic showing the Gulf Stream off the eastern coast of the United States

Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Data Portal

The following list summarizes some of the important characteristics of OPeNDAP served data sets accessible through this portal. Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) have been developed to search and access several of these data collections and can be acquired in the Matlab OPeNDAP Ocean Toolbox. These data sets have all been organized and more fully described in a THREDDS catalog, which includes important metadata as well as enabling further access to the data down to the granule level.

All of the following data collections are available via OPeNDAP command line clients:

  • NASA MODIS SST data are derived from the MODIS (MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensors aboard the NASA Terra and Aqua satellites, which have been in sun-synchronous orbits since 2000 and 2002, respectively. These SST data are believed by many to be superior to AVHRR SST due to the higher sensitivity and lower signal-to-noise characteristics of the MODIS instrument. Global time series data are available at 4.6 km, 36 km and 1 degree resolutions and at daily, weekly and monthly time intervals. A Matlab GUI is currently in development for this data set.
  • NASA/JPL WOCE SST data are available on 0.5 (binned) and 1.0 (interpolated) degree grids over the global ocean from 1990 to 2003. The data were produced as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) and were derived from the AVHRR sensor on board the NOAA-n series of polar orbiting (sun-synchronous) satellites. The time series data represent 5 day averages of twice daily Pathfinder "best" data, with both daytime and nighttime temperatures being used. A corresponding yearly climatology is also included. A Matlab GUI is being planned for this data set.

In addition, the following data collections are also available through the Matlab OPeNDAP Ocean Toolbox:

  • NODC/RSMAS/NASA 4km Pathfinder (version 5.0) SST An improved version of the Pathfinder algorithm is used to produce global SST data from 1985 to the present at a spatial resolution of ~4.6 km, the highest possible for a global AVHRR data set. The data are based on AVHRR observations from NOAA's series of polar orbiting (sun-synchronous) satellites. Key improvements of this Pathfinder (version 5.0) algorithm include a more accurate land mask, higher spatial resolution, and inclusion of sea ice information. The time series data are available at daily, 5-day, 7-day, 8-day, monthly and yearly temporal resolutions, along with corresponding sets of climatologies. This data collection was developed by NOAA/NODC in collaboration with the University of Miami and is served by NASA/JPL. A Matlab GUI has been developed for this data set and is available in the Matlab OPeNDAP Ocean Toolbox.
  • URI/NASA 1km Pathfinder SST regional data are available for the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, from 1985 through 2001 at a spatial resolution of ~1.1 km, the highest possible for a regional AVHRR data set. The data are based on AVHRR observations from NOAA's series of polar orbiting (sun-synchronous) satellites. Collaboration with local receiving stations enabled URI to obtain and process (at full resolution) all daily AVHRR passes for the northwest Atlantic (1985-2001), as well as the northeast (1992-1999) and northwest (1985-1999) Pacific. This data collection was developed at URI in collaboration with the University of Miami and served from URI/GSO. A Matlab GUI has been developed for this data set and is available in the Matlab OPeNDAP Ocean Toolbox.
  • NASA/GSFC AIRS Standard Physical Retrieval Product consists of retrieved estimates of cloud and surface properties, as well as atmospheric profiles of temperature, water vapor and ozone. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument is aboard the AQUA satellite on a sun-synchronous orbit and has been obtaining global data, twice daily since 2002. The time series data include surface skin temperature, which is available at 1 degree resolution and at daily, weekly and monthly time intervals. A Matlab GUI has been developed for this data set and is available in the Matlab OPeNDAP Ocean Toolbox.
  • NOAA/Coastwatch GOES SST data are derived from the Imager instrument aboard the GOES satellites, which have been in geo-synchronous orbit since 1997. The GOES-11 and GOES-12 satellites presently cover the Pacific Ocean and most of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The GOES Imager downloads data every 15 minutes, which allows for rapid composite imaging, thus making this data set ideal for feature tracking and working in areas with fast moving cloud cover. The time series data is at 5 km resolution with composite images available at daily, 3 day, 8 day, 14 day, and monthly durations. A Matlab GUI has been developed for this data set and is available in the Matlab OPeNDAP Ocean Toolbox.