Sarah Larson
HW #3, problem #4
The above image shows the real-time sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies for January 1, 2011
based on the climatological mean from 1981-2010. The image is a composite of SST data from several
NOAA and NASA satellites. Multiple satellites are used to construct a cloud-free, higher resolution
depiction of the SST anomalies. For example, NASA’s Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth
Observing System (AMSR-E) measures microwave radiation emitted from the Earth’s sea surface.
Microwave radiation is an effective tool for indirectly measuring the SST because it can penetrate
through clouds and is minimally affected by atmospheric conditions. However, the measurements do
lack high resolution and accuracy. To remedy this weakness, the composite also incorporates infrared
radiation measurements from NOAA’s Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometers (AVHRR). AVHRR
measures infrared radiation emitted from the Earth’s sea surface but the infrared band is affected by
clouds and atmospheric conditions. That being said, infrared radiation measurements are very high
resolution. Thus, the combination of microwave and infrared radiation measurements are used to
construct a cloud-free, high resolution depiction of SST anomalies.
The initial SST dataset is provided by the NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research. The
dataset for the images are produced by the NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab and include the
NOAA National Climatic Data Center Optimum Interpolation SST anomaly dataset.