Sea surface temperature

The accurate remote sensing of SST from polar-orbiting spacecraft is one of the major accomplishments of the satellite era. A time series of global SSTs now extends for over two decades and provides a valuable resource for studies of the climate system and many other oceanographic and meteorological phenomena. The provision of global SSTs with only a few hours delay is now an accepted part of numerical weather prediction, and research and operational efforts are currently directed at improving the accuracy of the SST fields and how they can contribute to better weather and ocean forecasting (Donlon et al., 2007). The continued measurement of SST from satellites is planned through the next decade and longer with the US JPSS, the Japanese GCOM, and the European MetOp and GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) Sentinal-3 programs.