Sea Surface Temperature Team

The Sea Surface Temperature Team is responsible for the development, science maintenance and validation of various Level 2, 3 and 4 SST products from current and future polar and geostationary satellites. We work with our partners in the NOAA Office of Satellite Products and Operations (OSPO), to generate high- quality SST products and satisfy needs of NOAA and external users, in the areas of climate monitoring, seasonal forecasting, operational weather and ocean forecasting, military and defense operations, validating of ocean and atmospheric models, ecosystem assessment, tourism, and fisheries. We also participate in the international Group for High Resolution SST.

NOAA Enterprise SST System comprises 2 sub-systems:
Retrieval and Monitoring

Retrieval:

ACSPO (Advanced Clear-Sky Processor for Ocean)

Site:	ACSPO - JPSS EDR Monitoring ACSPO - NOAA 20 Monitoring

Monitoring:

SQUAM - SST Quality Monitor

Purpose:	Monitors global L2 & L3 SSTs w.r.t. L4 fields & in situ data Intercompares and validates various global L4 SST products
Site:	www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/sod/sst/squam/
Reference:	Dash, P., Ignatov, A., Kihai, Y., & Sapper, J. (2010). The SST Quality Monitor (SQUAM). Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 27(11), 1899-1917. [10.1175/2010jtechho756.1]

Global SST Monitoring & Validation against in situ SSTs (iQuam)

Purpose:	QC of in situ SSTs; Online monitoring; Distribution to users
Site:	www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/sod/sst/iquam/
Reference:	Xu, F., & Ignatov, A. (2014). In Situ SST Quality Monitor (iQuam). Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 31(1), 164-180. [10.1175/jtech-d-13-00121.1]

Match-Up Code

Purpose	Generate satellite/iQuam match-ups for analysis in SQUAM

ARMS - ACSPO Regional Monitor for SST

Purpose	Local monitoring of ACSPO SSTs, for self- and cross-platform consistency
Site:	www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/sod/sst/arms/
Reference:	(Ding et al., in prep)

MICROS - Monitoring IR Clear-sky Radiances over Oceans for SST

Purpose	Global monitoring clear ocean BTs vs. CRTM, to ensure high-quality brightness temperatures
Site:	www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/sod/sst/micros/
Reference:	Liang, X. M., & Ignatov, A. (2011). Monitoring of IR Clear-Sky Radiances over Oceans for SST (Micros). Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 28(10), 1228-1242. [10.1175/jtech-d-10-05023.1]

3S - Sensor Stability for SST

Purpose	Monitoring of AVHRR L1b data, to ensure high quality CAL for accurate brightness temperatures
Site:	www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/sod/sst/3s/
Reference:	He, K., Ignatov, A., Kihai, Y., Cao, C., & Stroup, J. (2016). Sensor Stability for SST (3S): Toward Improved Long-Term Characterization of AVHRR Thermal Bands. Remote Sensing, 8(4), 346. [10.3390/rs8040346]