GHRSST Level 2P Global Sea Surface Skin Temperature from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the NASA Aqua satellite (GDS2)

(MODIS_A-JPL-L2P-v2019.0)
3 Publications Cited this Dataset
Citation metrics available for years (2014-2021)
Version2019.0
Processing Level2
Start/Stop Date2002-Jul-04 to Present
Short NameMODIS_A-JPL-L2P-v2019.0
DescriptionNASA produces skin sea surface temperature (SST) products from the Infrared (IR) channels of the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Aqua satellite. Aqua was launched by NASA on May 4, 2002, into a sun synchronous, polar orbit with a daylight ascending node at 1:30 pm, formation flying in the A-train with other Earth Observation Satellites (EOS), to study the global dynamics of the Earth atmosphere, land and oceans. MODIS captures data in 36 spectral bands at a variety of spatial resolutions. Two SST products can be present in these files. The first is a skin SST produced for both day and night (NSST) observations, derived from the long wave IR 11 and 12 micron wavelength channels, using a modified nonlinear SST algorithm intended to provide continuity of SST derived from heritage and current NASA sensors. At night, a second SST product is generated using the mid-infrared 3.95 and 4.05 micron wavelength channels which are unique to MODIS; the SST derived from these measurements is identified as SST4. The SST4 product has lower uncertainty, but due to sun glint can only be used at night. MODIS L2P SST data have a 1 km spatial resolution at nadir and are stored in 288 five minute granules per day. Full global coverage is obtained every two days, with coverage poleward of 32.3 degree being complete each day. The production of MODIS L2P SST files is part of the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) project and is a joint collaboration between the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG), and the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS). Researchers at RSMAS are responsible for SST algorithm development, error statistics and quality flagging, while the OBPG, as the NASA ground data system, is responsible for the production of daily MODIS ocean products. JPL acquires MODIS ocean granules from the OBPG and reformats them to the GHRSST L2P netCDF specification with complete metadata and ancillary variables, and distributes the data as the official Physical Oceanography Data Archive (PO.DAAC) for SST. The R2019.0 supersedes the previous R2014.0 datasets which can be found at https://doi.org/10.5067/GHMDA-2PJ02
DOI10.5067/GHMDA-2PJ19
MeasurementOCEANS > OCEAN TEMPERATURE > SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE
Swath Width2330 km
Platform/Sensor
Aqua
Platform
Name: Earth Observing System, Aqua (Aqua)
Orbit Period: 98.4 minutes
Inclination Angle: 98.1 degrees
/
MODIS
SENSOR
Name: Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
Swath Width: 2330.0 meters
Description: Spacecraft angular distance from orbital plane relative to the Equator.

ProjectGroup for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST)
Data ProviderPublisher: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Creator: JPL/OBPG/RSMAS
Release Place: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, CA, USA
Release Date: 2020-Jan-15

FormatnetCDF-4
Keyword(s)GHRSST, L2P, SST, MODIS, AQUA, JPL, OBPG, V2019.0
Questions related to this dataset? Contact podaac@podaac.jpl.nasa.gov
Resolution
Spatial Resolution: 1000 Meters x 1000 Meters
Temporal Resolution: Hourly - < Daily
 
Coverage
Region: GLOBAL
North Bounding Coordinate: 90 degrees
South Bounding Coordinate: -90 degrees
West Bounding Coordinate: -180 degrees
East Bounding Coordinate: 180 degrees
Time Span: 2002-Jul-04 to Present
Granule Time Span: 2002-Jul-04 to 2023-Apr-01
Swath Width: 2330 km
 
Projection
Projection Type: Satellite native swath
Projection Detail: Geolocation information included for each pixel
Ellipsoid: WGS 84
 
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DATA CITATION POLICY
Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. Please cite the data as follows, and cite the reference papers when it is appropriate.
Citation JPL/OBPG/RSMAS. 2020. MODIS Aqua L2P swath SST data set. Ver. 2019.0. PO.DAAC, CA, USA. Dataset accessed [YYYY-MM-DD] at https://doi.org/10.5067/GHMDA-2PJ19

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For more information see Data Citations and Acknowledgments.
Journal Reference Kilpatrick, K.A., Podestá, G., Walsh, S., Williams, E., Halliwell, V., Szczodrak, M., Brown, O.B., Minnett, P.J., & Evans, R. . 2015. A decade of sea surface temperature from MODIS, Remote Sensing of Environment , 165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2015.04.023