RSS Optimally Interpolated Microwave and Infrared Daily Sea Surface Temperature Analysis

The through-cloud capabilities of satellite microwave radiometers provides a valuable picture of the global sea surface temperature (SST). To utilize this, scientists at Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) have created two Optimally Interpolated (OI) SST daily products, one using only microwave data at 25 km resolution and one using microwave and infrared data at 9 km resolution. These products are ideal for research activities in which a complete, daily SST map is more desirable than one with missing data due to orbital gaps or environmental conditions precluding SST retrieval. The 25 km microwave OI SST product contains the SST measurements from all operational radiometers. The 9 km microwave and infrared OI SST product combines the through-cloud capabilities of the microwave data with the high spatial resolution and near-coastal capability of the infrared SST data. All SST values are adjusted using a diurnal model to create a foundation SST. Improved global daily near real time (NRT) SSTs are useful for a wide range of scientific and operational activities.