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Sea Surface Temperature Analyses

NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center

Asheville, NC

Richard W. Reynolds

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Decadal Global In Situ SST

Coverage

Maximum: 120 months per decade

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Extended Reconstruction SST (ERSST)

•Uses ship and buoy SST data•Monthly 2o gridded fields from 1854 to present•Purpose: to monitor climate change

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Climate SSTContour Intervals: 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 28

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Top: AVHRR Pathfinder Bottom: AMSR-E

For AVHRR:• Absolute latitudes > 40° have

roughly only 5 days of data

• Number of days increases toward the tropics

• Drop offs due to cloud cover

For AMSR:• Absolute latitudes > 40° have

more than 20 days of data

• Drop offs due to precipitation in ITCZ and SPCZ

Jan '03: Number of Days with Nighttime Obs

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Magnitude of Gradient:Gulf Stream

• Daily OI using AMSR-E for January - March 2003

• Gradients have a stationary part due to topography– Thus, limited

AVHRR data are useful

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• 27 August: Katrina– Weak anomaly in Gulf in

Path + AMSR-E

• 28 August: Katrina– Strong anomaly in Path +

AMSR-E

• 29 August: Katrina– Strong anomaly in Path +

AMSR-E

– Modest anomaly in Path

Daily OI SST Anomalies

EOT satellite bias correction

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Left: Pathfinder AVHRR OI Right: Pathfinder AVHRR +

AMSR-E OI

AVHRR-only OI AMSR+AVHRR OI

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Daily OI: ProductsAll products on 0.25° spatial grid

• AVHRR only– AVHRR Daily OI: September 1981 to present

• AMSR + AVHRR – AMSR + AVHRR Daily OI: June 2002 to present

• Both products use satellite & in situ data

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The End