This page provides time series and map visualizations of daily mean
Sea Surface Temperature (SST) from
NOAA Optimum Interpolation SST (OISST) version 2.1. OISST is a 0.25°x0.25°
gridded dataset that provides estimates of temperature based on a blend of satellite,
ship, and buoy observations. The datset spans 1 January 1982 to present with a 1 to
2-day lag from the current day. Data are preliminary
for about two weeks until a finalized product is posted by NOAA. This status is
identified on the maps by "preliminary" appearing in the title, and applies to the
time series as well. SST anomalies, which are included in the OISST dataset, are based
on 1971–2000 climatology.
The time series chart displays area-weighted means for the selected domain. For
example, if World 60S-60N is selected, then each daily SST value on the chart
represents the average of all ocean gridcells between 60°S and 60°N across all longitudes,
and accounts for the convergence of longitudes at the poles. Hide or display individual
time series by clicking the year below the chart; Hide All and Show All
buttons are at the chart lower right. The map below the chart can be updated by
clicking a point on one of the time series. The map can be switched between SST and SST
anomaly by clicking the toggle botton at the map top-left. A sea ice mask is applied
to the SST and anomaly maps for gridcells where ice concentration is >= 50%.
NCAR Command Language is
used for data processing and map generation. The interactive time series chart is
made using HighCharts.
Monthly SST visualizations for OISST and another dataset called ERSST are
available here.
