NOAA CoastWatch distributes chlorophyll-a concentration data from NASA's Aqua Spacecraft. Measurements are gathered by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) carried aboard the spacecraft. The algorithm currently used in processing the water leaving radiance to chlorophyll concentration has not yet been accepted as science quality. In addition, assumptions are made in the atmospheric correction in order to provide the data in a timely manner.

MODIS measures photosynthetically available radiation that may be used to mode primary productivity. THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCT: intended strictly for scientific evaluation by professional marine scientists.

Analyzed Foundation, Microwave + InfraRed Optimally Interpolated, Near Real Time, Global, Sea Surface Temperature data. The through-cloud capabilities of microwave radiometers provide a valuable picture of global sea surface temperature (SST). To utilize this, scientists at Remote Sensing Systems have calculated a daily, Optimally Interpolated (OI) SST product at quarter degree (~25 kilometer) resolution. This product is 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. Improved global daily NRT SSTs should be useful for a wide range of scientific and operational activities. The addition of SST derived from Infrared (IR) measurements allows higher spatial resolution, and SST near land. However, IR input is less accurate than MW due to cloud contamination. Blending MW and IR enables greater coverage and higher accuracy than IR only SSTs, but current OI does not completely eliminate cloud contamination inherent to IR SSTs. This is a near real time data set and is intended for use in operations applications. A higher-quality "Science Quality" data set is generally available about 10 days after the production of the real time version. It is recommended that the "Science Quality" data be used for scientific applications.

NOAA CoastWatch provides sea surface temperature (SST) products derived from NOAA's Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES). This data is provided at high resolution (0.0125 degrees) for the North Pacific Ocean. Measurements are gathered by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument, a multiband radiance sensor carried aboard the NOAA POES satellites.

AVHRR Pathfinder Oceans Project seeks to create a long-term, continuous sea surface temperature data series for use in climate research. The Pathfinder SST data begins with historic AVHRR Global Area Coverage SST. This data is re-evaluated and re-calibrated, improving both the accuracy and number of valid SST values (due to improved cloud-masking).

Analyzed Foundation, Microwave + InfraRed Optimally Interpolated, Science Quality, Global, Sea Surface Temperature data. The through-cloud capabilities of microwave radiometers provide a valuable picture of global sea surface temperature (SST). To utilize this, scientists at Remote Sensing Systems have calculated a daily, Optimally Interpolated (OI) SST product at quarter degree (~25 kilometer) resolution. This product is 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. Improved global daily NRT SSTs should be useful for a wide range of scientific and operational activities. The addition of SST derived from Infrared (IR) measurements allows higher spatial resolution, and SST near land. However, IR input is less accurate than MW due to cloud contamination. Blending MW and IR enables greater coverage and higher accuracy than IR only SSTs, but current OI does not completely eliminate cloud contamination inherent to IR SSTs.

MODIS measures chlorophyll fluorescence, which gives insight into the physiology of phytoplankton in the ocean. When phytoplankton are under stress, the rate at which they fluoresce can be decoupled from the rate of photosynthetic productivity. THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCT: intended strictly for scientific evaluation by professional marine scientists.

NOAA OceanWatch provides sea surface temperature (SST) products derived from microwave sensors, which can measure ocean temperatures even in the presence of clouds. This data is provided at moderate spatial resolution (0.025 degrees) for the Global Ocean. Measurements are gathered by Japan's Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) instrument, a passive radiance sensor carried aboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft.

NOAA CoastWatch provides SST data from NASA's Aqua Spacecraft. Measurements are gathered by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) carried aboard the spacecraft. Currently, only daytime imagery is supported. This is Science Quality data.

NOAA CoastWatch provides SST data from NASA's Aqua Spacecraft. Measurements are gathered by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) carried aboard the spacecraft. Currently, only daytime imagery is supported. This is Science Quality data.