Table 1: GHRSST GDS2 format Level 2 and Level 3 satellite SST products, covering the Australian region (70oE to 190oE, 70oS to 20oN) and Southern Ocean domain (2.5oE to 202.5oE, 77.5oS to 27.5oS), specifically developed for Australian applications.
Product and Citation | Date Period | Spatial resolution, Temporal resolution, depth | SST data inputs | Advantages and Applications | Disadvantages | NCI Thredds Server Data Access |
IMOS HRPT AVHRR L2P (Griffin et al., 2017) | 1992 - present | 1.1 km at nadir to ~4 km at swath edges | IMOS NOAA-9 to NOAA-19 HRPT AVHRR brightness temperatures | Timeliness, well-navigated, consistently calibrated and bias-corrected using regional buoy SSTs. Routinely validated at BoM. Used for ingestion into SST analyses and IMOS OceanCurrent 4-hourly SST composite maps. | Formed from IR data so gaps in cloudy regions | Real-time (fv01): Past month: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L2P/catalog.html Previous months: Contact ghrsst@bom.gov.au Reprocessed (fv02): Contact ghrsst@bom.gov.au |
IMOS HRPT AVHRR L3U | 1992 - present | 0.02 deg, 1 file per swath, skin | IMOS NOAA-9 to NOAA-19 HRPT AVHRR L2P, OSI-SAF MetOp-A/FRAC AVHRR L2P, OSI-SAF MetOp-B FRAC AVHRR L2P, OSI-SAF MetOp-C FRAC AVHRR L2P, ACSPO NPP VIIRS L3U, ACSPO NOAA-20 VIIRS L3U | Timeliness, consistently calibrated and bias-corrected using regional buoy SSTs. Routinely validated at BoM. Regular grid. Used in RT IMOS OceanCurrent maps and fisheries applications (e.g. www.fishtrack.com) | Formed from IR data so gaps in cloudy regions | Real-time (fv01): Australian Domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3U/catalog.html Southern Ocean Domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3U-Southern/catalog.html Reprocessed(fv02): Australian Domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Continental/L3U/catalog.html Southern Ocean Domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Southern/L3U-Southern/catalog.html |
IMOS HRPT AVHRR L3C | 1992 – present | 0.02 deg, 1/3 days, day/night, skin | NOAA-9 to NOAA-19 HRPT AVHRR L3U, MetOp-A, MetOp-B and MetOp-C FRAC AVHRR L3U | Better spatial coverage than the single swath L3U SSTs. Routinely validated at BoM. Used in diurnal variation research (e.g., Zhang et al., 2016b). | Formed from IR data so gaps in cloudy regions | Real-time (fv01): Australian Domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3C-01day/catalog.html Southern Ocean Domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3C-01day-Southern/catalog.html Reprocessed (fv02): Australian Domain: Southern Ocean Domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Southern/L3S-01day-Southern/catalog.html and https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Southern/L3S-1month-Southern/catalog.html |
IMOS HRPT AVHRR L3S | 1992 - present | 0.02 deg, 1/3/6 days and 1 month, skin (day-only, night-only) or foundation (day+night) | NOAA-9 to NOAA-19 HRPT AVHRR L3C | High spatial resolution (2 km) and long time series. Routinely validated at BoM. Used in IMOS OceanCurrent, validation of ocean models, and marine heat wave and biological research. | Based on HRPT AVHRR only, so limited in spatial coverage. CAPS-based cloud identification means cloud clearing differs south of 20S (Wijfffels et al., 2018). | Real-time (fv01) Australian domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3S-01day/catalog.html and L3S-03day, L3S-06day and L3S-1month sub-directories Southern Ocean domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3S-01day-Southern/catalog.html Reprocessed (fv02): Australian domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Continental/L3S-01day/catalog.html Southern Ocean domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Southern/L3S-01day-Southern/catalog.html and L3S-1month-Southern sub-directory |
IMOS METOP-AVHRR L3U | 2012 - present | 0.02 deg, 1 file per swath, skin | OSI-SAF MetOp-A/FRAC AVHRR L2P, OSI-SAF MetOp-B/FRAC AVHRR L2P, OSI-SAF MetOp-B/FRAC AVHRR L2P | Greater spatial coverage than POES HRPT AVHRR due to global METOP FRAC AVHRR coverage and Bayesian cloud identification. Improved accuracy compared with POES AVHRR SSTs. Routinely validated at BoM. | Formed from IR data so gaps in cloudy regions. | Real-time (fv01): Australian domain: Southern Ocean domain: Reprocessed (fv02): https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Continental/L3U/catalog.html in the ABOM-L3U_GHSST-SSTskin-AVHRR_MetOpA, ABOM-L3U_GHSST-SSTskin-AVHRR_MetOpB and ABOM-L3U_GHSST-SSTskin-AVHRR_MetOpC directories |
IMOS METOP-AVHRR L3C | 2012 - present | 0.02 deg, 1-day, day/night, skin | IMOS MetOp-A,B FRAC AVHRR L3U | Mutliple swaths composited, so greater spatial coverage than METOP AVHRR L3U. Routinely validated at BoM. | Formed from IR data so gaps in cloudy regions. | Real-time (fv01): Australian domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3C-01day/catalog.html Southern Ocean domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3C-01day-Southern/catalog.html Reprocessed (fv02): Australian domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Continental/L3C-01day/catalog.html in the ABOM-L3C_GHSST-SSTskin-AVHRR_MetOpA, ABOM-L3C_GHSST-SSTskin-AVHRR_MetOpB and ABOM-L3C_GHSST-SSTskin-AVHRR_MetOpC directories Southern Ocean domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Southern/L3C-01day-Southern/catalog.html in the ABOM-L3C_GHSST-SSTskin-AVHRR_MetOpA, ABOM-L3C_GHSST-SSTskin-AVHRR_MetOpB and ABOM-L3C_GHSST-SSTskin-AVHRR_MetOpC directories |
IMOS VIIRS L3U | 2012 - present | 0.02 deg, 1 file per swath, skin | ACSPO NPP VIIRS L3U, ACSPO NOAA-20 VIIRS L3U | Greater spatial coverage due to global ACSPO VIIRS L3U coverage. Improved cloud identification and 0.75 – 1.5 km pixel resolution. Improved accuracy compared with POES AVHRR SSTs. Routinely validated at BoM. | Formed from IR data so gaps in cloudy regions | Real-time (fv01): Australian domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3U/ABOM-L3U_GHRSST-SSTskin-VIIRS_NPP/catalog.html and https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3U/ABOM-L3U_GHRSST-SSTskin-VIIRS_N20/catalog.html Southern ocean domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3U-Southern/ABOM-L3U_GHRSST-SSTskin-VIIRS_NPP/catalog.html and https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3U-Southern/ABOM-L3U_GHRSST-SSTskin-VIIRS_N20/catalog.html Reprocessed (fv02): Australian domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Continental/L3U/catalog.html in the ABOM-L3U_GHSST-SSTskin-VIIRS_NPP and ABOM-L3U_GHSST-SSTskin-VIIRS_N20 directories Southern ocean domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Southern/L3U-Southern/catalog.html in the ABOM-L3U_GHSST-SSTskin-VIIRS_NPP and ABOM-L3U_GHSST-SSTskin-VIIRS_N20 directories |
IMOS VIIRS L3C | 2012 - present | 0.02 deg, 1-day, day/night, skin | IMOS NPP VIIRS L3U, IMOS NOAA-20 VIIRS L3U | Multiple granules composited, so greater spatial coverage than single granule VIIRS L3U. | Formed from IR data so gaps in cloudy regions | Real-time (fv01): Australian domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3C-01day/catalog.html Southern Ocean domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3C-01day-Southern/catalog.html Reprocessed (fv02): Australian domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Continental/L3C-01day/catalog.html in the ABOM-L3C_GHSST-SSTskin-VIIRS_NPP and ABOM-L3C_GHRSST-SSTskin-VIIRS_N20 subdirectories Southern Ocean domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Southern/L3C-01day-Southern/catalog.html in the ABOM-L3C_GHSST-SSTskin-VIIRS_NPP and ABOM-L3C_GHRSST-SSTskin-VIIRS_N20 subdirectories |
IMOS Multi-sensor L3S (Govekar et al., 2022; Griffin et al., 2017; Beggs et al., 2019) | 2012 - present | 0.02 deg, 1/3/6 days and 1 month, skin (day-only, night-only) or foundation (day+night) | IMOS NOAA-15 to 19 HRPT AVHRR L3C, IMOS MetOp-A/FRAC AVHRR L3C, IMOS MetOp-B/FRAC AVHRR L3C, IMOS MetOp-B/FRAC AVHRR L3C, ACSPO NPP VIIRS L3U, IMOS NOAA-20 VIIRS L3C | Better spatial coverage and accuracy compared with IMOS AVHRR-only L3S or VIIRS L3C. Routinely validated at BoM. Used in IMOS OceanCurrent and coastal upwelling research (Beggs et al., 2018). | Formed from IR data so gaps in cloudy regions. | Real-time (fv01) Australian domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3S-01day/catalog.html and L3S-03day, L3S-06dy and L3S-1month sub-directories Southern Ocean domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv01/L3S-01day-Southern/catalog.html Reprocessed (fv02): Australian domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Continental/L3S-01day/catalog.html Southern Ocean domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Southern/L3S-01day-Southern/catalog.html and L3S-1month-Southern sub-directory http://thredds.aodn.org.au/thredds/catalog/IMOS/SRS/SST/ghrsst/catalog.html in the L3SM-1d, L3SM-3d, L3SM-6d and L3SM-1m sub-directories |
IMOS MTSAT-1R L3U v2 | 2006 - 2010 | 0.05 deg, hourly, skin | IMOS MTSAT-1R/JAMI L2P v2 | Moderately accurate compared with buoys. Used for diurnal variation research. | Day/night biases in some regions. | https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/MTSAT-1R/v02.0/catalog.html |
IMOS MTSAT-1R L3U v3 | Jan – Apr 2010 | 0.05 deg, hourly, skin | IMOS MTSAT-1R/JAMI L2P v3 | Highly accurate over the Tropical Warm Pool compared with buoys, low day/night bias over Tropical Warm Pool makes it ideal for diurnal variation studies (Zhang et al., 2016a, 2018). | Only available for four months | https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/MTSAT-1R/v03.0/catalog.html |
Operational Legacy BoM Himawari-8 L2P (Griffin and Majewski, 2016) | Mar 2016 - present | 2 km at nadir, 10 min, skin | JMA Himawari-8/AHI L0 | High temporal resolution. Used as input into CSIRO’s 4-hourly SST composites for IMOS OceanCurrent . | Some residual cloud contamination. No SSES. | Real-time fv03: Available on NCI /g/data/gy24. Go to NCI Australia | Project gy24 and request to join for read access. Contact ghrsst@bom.gov.au for access details. |
Reprocessed BoM Himawari-8 L2P fv02 (Govekar et al., 2024; Govekar et al., 2021) | 2015 - 2020 | 2 km at nadir, 10 min, skin | JMA Himawari-8/AHI L0 | High temporal resolution. More accurate than Legacy BoM Himawari-8 L2P and less cloud contamination (Govekar et al., 2021). | Available on NCI /g/data/gy24/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Geos141/L2P/ABOM-L2P_GHRSST-SSTskin-AHI_H08. Go to NCI Australia | Project gy24 and request to join for read access. Contact ghrsst@bom.gov.au for access details. | |
Legacy Real-time IMOS Himawari-8 L3C fv03 | Oct 2017 - present | 0.02 deg, 1-hourly, 4-hourly and 1 day, skin | BoM Himawari-8/AHI L2P | Routinely validated at BoM. Greater spatial coverage and less cloud contamination than the Legacy 10-min Himwari-8 L2P data. Useful for studies of coastal upwelling and diurnal warming. | Some residual cloud contamination. Biased compared with buoy SSTs. | Real-time fv03: Available on BoM Thredds server. Contact ghrsst@bom.gov.au for access. |
IMOS Himawari-8 L3C fv02 (Govekar et al., 2024; Govekar et al., 2021) | 2015 - 2020 | 0.02 deg, 1-hourly, 4-hourly and 1 day, skin | BoM Himawari-8/AHI L2P | Validated at BoM. Greater spatial coverage and less cloud contamination than the 10-min Himwari-8 L2P data. Useful for studies of coastal upwelling and diurnal warming. | Some residual cloud contamination. | L3C-04hour: L3C-01day night: |
IMOS Geo-Polar Multi-sensor L3S fv02 (Govekar et al., 2024; Govekar et al., 2021) | 2015 - 2020 | 0.02 deg, 1-hourly, 4-hourly and 1 day, skin | IMOS Himawari-8 fv02 L3C, IMOS fv02 NOAA-15/18/19 HRPT AVHRR L3C, IMOS fv02 MetOp-A/FRAC AVHRR L3C, IMOS fv02 MetOp-B/FRAC AVHRR L3C, IMOS fv02 MetOp-C/FRAC AVHRR L3C, ACSPO NPP VIIRS L3U, IMOS NOAA-20 VIIRS L3C | Validated at BoM. Better spatial coverage and similar accuracy compared with IMOS AVHRR-only L3S, IMOS Multi-sensor L3S, 1-day VIIRS L3C or 1-day Himawari-8 L3C. | Formed from IR data so still some gaps in cloudy regions. | Reprocessed fv02: Australian Domain: https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/qm43/ghrsst/v02.0fv02/Continental/L3S-01day/night/catalog.html(look for filename containing string 'GeoPolar'). |
Operational BoM RAMSSA L4 (Beggs, 2021; Beggs et al., 2020) | Jun 2006 - present | 1/12 deg, daily, foundation Domain: 60oE to 190oE, 70oS to 20oN. | In situ SST from drifting buoys, moorings, ships, Argo, XBT, CTD (from GTS), | Includes microwave data so measures SST under cloud. Gap-free, daily spatial coverage. Moderately accurate compared with independent buoys; | Only available from 2006. Lower feature resolution and less accurate than IMOS Multi-sensor L3S. | Available on NCI /g/data/gy24/ghrsst/RAMSSA_2.0. Go to NCI Australia | Project gy24 and request to join for read access. Contact ghrsst@bom.gov.au for access details. Available on AODN Thredds server at http://thredds.aodn.org.au/thredds/catalog/IMOS/SRS/SST/ghrsst/L4/RAMSSA/catalog.html |
Operational BoM GAMSSA L4 (Beggs, 2021; Beggs et al., 2020) | Jul 2008 - present | 0.25 deg, daily, foundation Domain: -180oE to 180oE, 90oS to 90oN. | In situ SST from drifting buoys, moorings, ships (from GTS), | Includes microwave data so measures SST under cloud. Gap-free, daily spatial coverage. Moderately accurate compared with independent Argo SST data (STD < 0.5 K). Moderate feature sensitivity. Used for boundary condition of BoM NWP models, initialising BoM seasonal prediction model and SST | Only available from 2008. | Available on NCI /g/data/gy24/ghrsst/GAMSSA_2.0. Go to NCI Australia | Project gy24 and request to join for read access. Contact ghrsst@bom.gov.au for access details. Available on AODN Thredds server at http://thredds.aodn.org.au/thredds/catalog/IMOS/SRS/SST/ghrsst/L4/GAMSSA/catalog.html |