News
Registration Open for 3-7 May 2021 PolarWatch Course
Updated: February 18, 2021The next NOAA CoastWatch Satellite Training Course will be held online, 3 to 7 May 2021.
Hosted by NOAA PolarWatch
Registration is now open. Learn about available environmental satellite data and gain hands on experience accessing data and incorporating it into your projects.
Possible NOAA CoastWatch service interruption February 20-21 2021.
Updated: February 12, 2021Maintenance is planned for infrastructure housing NOAA CoastWatch processing. Although much of the processing has redundancy, there is a possibility of a data outage. An outage may occur beginning 20 February 2021. Affected product processing may not be restored until 22 February 2021. Return-to-service times will vary based on the assurance level associated with the affected product.
Products impacted: All [SST, Ocean Color, Altimetry, SAR, etc]
Services impacted: All [Websites, THREDDS, ERDDAP, FTP, CDN]
Times: 20-21 February 2021
Upcoming changes to CoastWatch Polar Ice Products
Updated: February 12, 2021Changes are being made to our polar ice products. We are adding metadata to make the products more interoperable across services and software. Some of these changes include adding axes and long_name attributes for better compatibility with online services.
CoastWatch Regional AVHRR and VIIRS 'Heritage' Products - change in distribution
Updated: February 17, 2021On March 1, 2021, legacy/heritage CoastWatch regional AVHRR and VIIRS products in HDF format will no longer be distributed by vmcwsst3 [or accessible using the 'cwdownload' utility]. [Note, NOAA-18 and NOAA-19 products ceased production 03FEB2021]
These products will continue to be processed and available to users through the following outlets:
Planned discontinuation of NOAA-18 and NOAA-19 AVHRR SST products
Updated: January 26, 2021Reminder on the planned discontinuation of NOAA-18/-19 AVHRR SST regional products from NOAA CoastWatch.
Products will cease distribution on February 3, 2021.
Topic: Termination of the CoastWatch SST products from NOAA-18 and NOAA-19
Date/Time Issued: January 26, 2021
Product(s) or Data Impacted: CoastWatch SST products from NOAA-18 and NOAA-19
Date/Time of Initial Impact: February 3, 2021 UTC
Date/Time of Expected End: N/A
Update to Delays in S-NPP and NOAA-20 Ocean Color
Updated: December 4, 2020Processing underway and near real-time L2 data are available.
Prior notice 02DEC2020:
Level-2 ocean color products from S-NPP and NOAA-20 VIIRS are currently suspended during a system upgrade. These products should resume within the next 48 hours. Products that are generated from the Level-2, such as global 4 km and 750 m regional products are impacted.
Sentinel-6 Launch, NOAA Scientists featured in media events
Updated: November 20, 2020NOAA CoastWatch is excited about the US-European spacecraft Sentinel-6. The satellite is scheduled to launch on Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 9:17:08 a.m. PST (12:17:08 p.m. EST) .
2nd International Operational Satellite Oceanography Symposium, 25-27 May 2021 - Call for Abstracts
Updated: October 26, 2020EUMETSAT and NOAA are co-organizing the second International Operational Satelltie Oceanography Symposium which will build on our first gathering in June 2019 of community members involved in all levels of the observation-to-information value chain, from data providers to users, of operational satellite oceanographic data, products and applications.
LATEST NEWS |
NOAA Ocean Workshop for Stakeholders on Geostationary and Extended Orbit Products
Updated: October 20, 2020NOAA CoastWatch is encouraging our users to participate in this upcoming workshop (and/or the survey) and have their interests heard and documented. CoastWatch will also participate as a stakeholder. We are not the host of these activities.
New Job Opportunity with CoastWatch!
Updated: October 9, 2020The Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR) is currently recruiting an Analyst to work with NOAA’s CoastWatch/OceanWatch/PolarWatch Program (https://coastwatch.noaa.gov/cw/index.html) who will be based at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s Ecosystem Sciences Division in Honolulu, HI. The Analyst will manage the
Interruption and Delays in OC VIIRS products
Updated: September 14, 2020S-NPP and NOAA-20 VIIRS data are unavailable for processing within NESDIS/STAR (data should be available through NESDIS/OSPO). The issue is being worked and we expect data flow/processing to resume within the next 24 hours.
NOAA-18/-19 AVHRR SST (legacy) Product degradation -- Resolved
Updated: September 1, 2020Navigation errors in the NOAA-18/-19 AVHRR (legacy) CoastWatch SST product have been resolved. Data are now within the nominal 2 pixel registration.
See prior news item for more information on the observed issue.
Release of version 3.6.0 of CoastWatch Utilities
Updated: September 1, 2020A new release of the CoastWatch Utilities is available.
Updates:
Planned discontinuation of NOAA-18 and NOAA-19 AVHRR SST products
Updated: November 16, 2020Announcing the planned discontinuation of NOAA-18 and NOAA-19 AVHRR SST products from NOAA CoastWatch:
Due to the availability of higher quality data, our operational partners will be discontinuing the processing of regional sea surface temperature products from AVHRR aboard NOAA-18 and NOAA-19 in December, 2020. Products will continue to be provided from Metop-A and Metop-B AVHRR instruments and S-NPP and NOAA-20 VIIRS instruments.
Data from Aqua MODIS unavailable
Updated: August 19, 2020Data from Aqua MODIS remain unavailable due to a spacecraft recorder issue. Please contact the CoastWatch helpdesk (coastwatch.info@noaa.gov) for assistance in selecting alternative data/products. We will continue to provide updates on this issue.
Delays to S-NPP and NOAA-20 Ocean Color
Updated: August 19, 2020Products are delayed due to processing system issues.
Ocean Surface Vector Winds (OSVW; magnitude and direction) from the OceanScatterometer (OSCAT-2) on SCATSAT-1.
Updated: July 27, 2020NOAA-18 and NOAA-19 AVHRR SST (legacy) Product degradation -- Resolved
Updated: September 1, 2020***Update: The navigational errors in the AVHRR products have been resolved. Data should appear within the nominal 2 pixel accuracy. Please be advised, the NOAA-18 and NOAA-19 products will be discontinued in December 2020.
Prior post:
New Super-collated Sea Surface Temperature product: ACSPO L3S-LEO
Updated: June 12, 2020Global, multi-sensor, near real time DINEOF gap-filled, chlorophyll is released
Updated: May 19, 2020The global, multi-sensor, near real time DINEOF gap-filled, chlorophyll has been relased, View and access data through the Data Portal or directly download data from the services linked from the satellite data product page under the "data access" tab.
Charleston, SC satellite data training course has been cancelled
Updated: May 18, 2020East Coast Node has cancelled their 3-day satellite data training course originally scheduled for 23-25 June in Charleston, SC.
Subscribe to get updates on training courses and other announcements.
Possible delays in Product Delivery
Updated: May 15, 2020Processing systems are undergoing maintenance 18-22 MAY 2020. This may adversely impact product processing and data distribution. It is anticipated delays will not exceed 72 hours and will vary by product. All products may be affected.
Global, multi-sensor, gap-filled, science quality chlorophyll is on the Data Portal
Updated: April 9, 2020The global, multi-sensor, gap-filled (i.e., DINEOF), science quality chlorophyll is now on the CoastWatch Data Portal. This URL link will open the Data Portal with this gap-filled product in the scene. Reminder that science quality ocean color data are available on a ~2-week delay, so use the calendar to view
ASCAT Ocean Surface Vector Winds now available on THREDDS server
Updated: April 9, 2020Ocean Surface Vector Winds from ASCAT on Metop A (2) and Metop B (1) are now available on THREDDS server
Information technology issues affecting CoastWatch Products and Services
Updated: March 9, 2020Unforeseen issues have arisen affecting our website links and behind the scenes product processing. Please bear with us as products and services are restored. Should you have immediate needs, please email our help-desk (coastwatch.info@noaa.gov) as there may be secondary URLs to access data products.
Some of the more prominent known issues include:
East Coast Node Website Restored
Updated: March 9, 2020The East Coast Node website is running again. Visit the site at https://eastcoast.coastwatch.noaa.gov.
East Coast Node Website Temporarily down
Updated: March 4, 2020Due to an IT issue, the CoastWatch East Coast Node website is temporarily inaccessible. We expect services to be restored soon. If you have immediate data requirements, please contact coastwatch.info@noaa.gov.
Next CoastWatch satellite data training course is 7 to 9 April 2020 in Anchorage, AK
Updated: February 7, 2020The next CoastWatch satellite data training course is 7 to 9 April 2020 in Anchorage, AK at the National Parks Building, taught by the West Coast Node and PolarWatch. Go here for more information about the course itself, FAQ's as well as travel logistics. Registration is now open.
Sentinel -3B is back at CoastWatch / Possible delays in Sentinel-3B CoastWatch data products
Updated: February 7, 2020Sentinel 3B products are back online at CoastWatch.
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Planned processing changes are scheduled for Thursday January 30, 2020. There may be a delay in the processing and distribution of CoastWatch Level-2 (RGB) and Level 3 (mapped) products. These changes will not affect data products nor data access pathway. Products delivery times should return to normal by February 1, 2020.
Level-2 data passthrough from EUMETSAT will not be impacted.
Training Course Updates: Charleston SC and San Juan PR
Updated: January 28, 2020East Coast Node has announced details for their 3-day training course 23-25 June in Charleston, SC
Are you interested in using oceanographic satellite data in your work but don't know where to start? The NOAA CoastWatch East Coast Regional Node will offer a three-day course, June 23-25, 2020, at the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, SC, where participants will learn about environmental satellite data and how to easily obtain it. Participants also gain hands on experience working with the data of interest to them.
Impacts of Product Outage/Anomaly: VIIRS SDR reflective solar bands (RSB) 16 & 17 January 2020
Updated: January 22, 2020Users of VIIRS ocean color products should be aware of a processing anomaly that affected products for the days of 16 and 17 January 2020. The source of the problem in the satellite data records (SDR; i.e., Level 1) has been resolved as of 18 January production. CoastWatch will be assessing impacts on CoastWatch products (environmental data records EDR or Level 2; and higher level processing, Level 3, Level 4) for this period. Some data files may be flagged or removed. Please consider potential impacts to your applications if you have routinely ingested VIIRS near real time
VIIRS Ocean Color multi-sensor, daily, global, gap-filled analysis product is released
Updated: January 22, 2020
Service Restored for ACSPO Global SST from MODIS Aqua and Terra
Updated: January 3, 2020The near real time ACSPO Global SST from MODIS Aqua and Terra processing has been restored and will backfill recent missing days.
Service Outage for ACSPO Global SST from MODIS Aqua and Terra
Updated: January 3, 2020CoastWatch has a service outage of the near real time ACSPO Global SST from MODIS Aqua and Terra. We are investigating the problem and will work to restore service as soon as possible. If you need an alternative for your polar-orbiting, SST needs, try ACSPO VIIRS SST.
CoastWatch Utiltities 3.5.1 (b762)
Updated: November 14, 2019A new release of the CW Utilities is available. Version 3.5.1 (build 762) includes:
Updates
Jason-2 will permanently cease acquisitions on 1 Oct 2019
Updated: September 30, 2019After more than 11 years in orbit and well beyond its three- to five-year mission baseline, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) on Jason-2 will permanently cease acquisition of scientific data at 06:48 UTC on 1 October 2019 due to aging-related issues onboard the spacecraft. Approximately three hours later, the final pass 147 for science cycle 644 will be produced as an OGDR product and disseminated to operational users. IGDR production will cease about 2.5 days later, GDR production approximately 2 months later.
Updated Links for Sea Surface Salinity THREDDS Catalogs
Updated: September 26, 2019The top level Sea Surface Salinity thredds catalog is here: https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/thredds/socd/coastwatch/catalog_smos_smap.html
CoastWatch Seascape Pelagic Habitat Classification product is now available.
Updated: September 17, 2019Geostrophic Currents now included in Sea Level Anomaly Altimetry Product
Updated: August 22, 2019Geostrophic Currents are now included in the Sea Level Height Anomaly product provided from the NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry. The CoastWatch product description page has also been upda
New Satellite Data Products added to CoastWatch Website
Updated: August 19, 2019New Satellite Data Products have been added to the CoastWatch Website:
CoastWatch Data Portal has been updated
Updated: August 16, 2019CoastWatch Data Portal has been updated with new features and additional datasets
Upcoming satellite data training courses
Updated: August 5, 2019Three satellite training courses taught by NOAA CoastWatch Nodes are open for sign up:
In situ ocean color database search tool (Beta) released
Updated: August 2, 2019In situ ocean color database (Beta) GUI Search Tool - released for public access
1st Int'l Operational Satellite Oceanography Symposium - Links to presentations and posters
Updated: July 22, 2019
Scheduled service interruption 28MAY2019 - update
Updated: May 24, 2019NOAA CoastWatch THREDDS and FTP servers will undergo maintenance on Tuesday May 28, 2019 at 1100 EDT (1500UTC) [changed from 0800 EDT (1200 UTC)]. Services and data in NetCDF/HDF formats may be unavailable for up to 2 hours. See the News section on the CoastWatch website for updates regarding this planned maintenance event. The following URLs will be affected:
Updated Operational Satellite Oceanography (OSO) information
Updated: May 24, 2019The 1st Operational Satellite Oceanography (OSO) Symposium, a joint meeting co-organized by EUMETSAT and
Discontinuation of "duplicate" Blended SST product
Updated: January 3, 2020The night-time Blended SST product is currently distributed in two NetCDF variants. The legacy NetCDF Blended product (generated from HDF) will be discontinued in July 2019. These products have the following naming convention and a filesize of ~106MB:
sst_geo-polar-blended_night_5km_YYYYJJJ.nc
[where YYYY=Year, and JJJ=Day of Year]
Release of CoastWatch CDAT and Utilities version 3.5.0
Updated: May 6, 2019A new release of the CoastWatch software is available. Changes include using Java OpenSDK11.0 and performance improvements to cwregister, cwmath, and cwcomposite. Accuracy improvements were made to mapping data with terrain-corrected locations to reduce mapping errors over land. See the CoastWatch Utilities page for more details and access to the new release.
NOAA discontinues operational AVHRR GAC SST Products
Updated: May 3, 2019The operational production of the Global Area Coverage (GAC; 4km/nadir) ACSPO SST data from AVHRR instruments aboard NOAA-18/19, and Metop-A/B will be discontinued on or after June 2, 2019. From that point on, ACSPO SSTs will continue to be available from three Full Resolution Area Coverage (FRAC; ~1km/nadir) mid-morning ("AM") Metop-A, -B and -C, and from two VIIRSs (~750m/nadir) onboard afternoon ("PM") NPP and NOAA-20. ACSPO SST from all historical AVHRR/2 and /3 GAC records will only be available in a reprocessing mode, as a part of ACSPO AVHRR GAC Reanalysis ("RAN") project.
Processing Update and *new* data release
Updated: August 2, 2019Ocean Color Product and Processing Update:
Ocean Color near real-time is restored and includes the release of VIIRS NOAA-20
Updated: March 29, 2019Ocean Color near real-time is restored and includes the release of VIIRS NOAA-20. Coming in April: A daily global blended VIIRS (SNPP plus NOAA-20) for chlorophyll and downwelling attenuation coefficient (Kd(490)).
NOAA CoastWatch Processing -- Update 3/13/2019
Updated: March 13, 2019As of 13MAR2019, CoastWatch distribution of data and products has been sporadic due to numerous issues. The following products are currently unavailable:
- S-NPP VIIRS Ocean Color Level-2 and Level-3 Regional/Sector/Global products
- Sentinel-3A OLCI Ocean Color Level-3 Regional and Global products
- SAR Wind products.
- S-NPP VIIRS and Aqua MODIS True Color products
The following products were delayed:
More about Training Day for OSO Symposium in June 2019
Updated: March 1, 2019The Operational Satellite Oceanography (OSO) Training Day on Monday, 17 June 2019, in association with the OSO Symposium in Washington DC area will cover 3 topics and will allot time for individual guidance:
1) Ocean satellite products available
2) Data discovery, access and tools
3) Example applications
4) Time for individual guidance or assistance.
Participants are encourage to bring their own laptops. No terminals will be provided.
Near real-time Ocean Color processing delays -- update
Updated: March 11, 2019As of 09MAR2019, CoastWatch distribution of S-NPP VIIRS Ocean Color Level-2/-3 data and products has been sporadic. Copernicus mission data distribution was delayed Mar 09 to March 11 2019. Level-3 SST (legacy HDF reginal products) were delayed and being backfilled (Note: https://cw2.espc.nesdis.noaa.gov/data/ hold legacy SST and win
Registration opens for 1st International Operational Satellite Oceanography Symposium
Updated: March 22, 2019FIRST INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONAL SATELLITE OCEANOGRAPHY SYMPOSIUM
NEW: NOAA CoastWatch/OceanWatch Data Portal (Beta release)
Updated: December 19, 2018The NOAA CoastWatch Data Portal combines multiple search tools into a single map client. This initial release integrates the L1/L2 Spatial/Time Search and visualization of global mapped data from our THREDDS service.
NEW: OceanWatch Monitor (v1.0)
Updated: December 19, 2018Open access to the enterprise OceanWatch Monitor (OM) online tool now available (v1.0).
Advanced Clear - Sky Processor for Oceans (ACSPO) Product Update: version 2.60 coming in October 2018
Updated: October 15, 2018Advanced Clear - Sky Processor for Oceans (ACSPO) Product Update
The Advanced Clear-Sky Processor for Oceans (ACSPO) for VIIRS instruments will be promoted from version 2.41 to version 2.60 on or about October 18, 2018.
New in version 2.60
Upcoming CoastWatch Data Server Transitions
Updated: November 27, 2018The following NOAA CoastWatch data servers will be removed from service on or about December 15, 2018:
Version 3.4.1 of the CoastWatch Utilities CoastWatch Data Analysis Tool (CDAT) is available.
Updated: January 3, 2020Click here for more information: CoastWatch Utilities
Third day added to the First International Operational Satellite Oceanography Symposium
Updated: September 24, 2018A third day has been added to the agenda of the First International Operational Satellite Oceanography Symposium, now18-20 June 2019 in College Park, MD, convenient to Washington DC [revised flyer]. A training session will be included.
First International Operational Satellite Oceanography Symposium
Updated: September 24, 2018FIRST INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONAL SATELLITE OCEANOGRAPHY SYMPOSIUM
18 to 20 June 2019 Washington, DC Area, NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction, College Park, MD, USA
VIIRS Quality Issue Resolved
Updated: March 15, 2018Data Quality UPDATE: Near Real Time VIIRS SNPP Ocean Color products quality issue resolved with data beginning March 2, 2018.
Dear Users,
The calibration issue affecting the NOAA/IDPS Sensor Data Record (SDR, i.e., L1B) for VIIRS SNPP and the Near Real Time Ocean Color Environmental Data Record (EDR) has been resolved. Data processed as of March 2, 2018 and onward meet quality standards. Thank you for using NOAA CoastWatch/OceanWatch data.
VIIRS Quality Issue
Updated: March 15, 2018Data Quality NOTICE: Near Real Time VIIRS SNPP Ocean Color products are severely degraded from 16 February 2018 until further notice.
Dear Users,
Changes for Near Real-time VIIRS Ocean Color Products
Updated: March 15, 2018The S-NPP VIIRS ocean color products produced within NOAA STAR are undergoing a processing change (products produced in near real-time operationally within OSPO will remain unchanged). As a result, beginning February 20, 2018 the following changes are expected:
GOES-16 will replace GOES-13 as GOES East in November 2017
Updated: March 15, 2018Users of geo-SST products,
This notice is to inform you and your group that certain legacy geo-SST products will be discontinued or severely impacted with the transition of GOES-13 to GOES-16 on or about November 20, 2017.
The legacy GOES-13 SST products, (gridded, in binary format) were not planned for continuation for GOES-16.
Service Announcement
Updated: March 15, 2018Dear CoastWatch VIIRS Ocean Color User,
Good news! The NOAA VIIRS Science Quality Ocean Color Level 2 Environmental Data Record products have been improved. Currently, CoastWatch is replacing the entire mission-long dataset with the new dataset from MSL12 v1.21 reprocessing. The new dataset will be available August 9,2017. Please check back soon to access full mission, MLS12 v1.21 VIIRS ocean color products.
Thanks for your interest in CoastWatch data. Please consider signing up for our mailing list for future announcements.
Level-2 and Level-3 OLCI datasets are now available
Updated: March 15, 2018NOAA CoastWatch/OceanWatch is now distributing Sentinel-3 OLCI Level-2 and Level-3 ocean color datasets. Data is provided courtesy of EUMETSAT as part of the Copernicus Program. NOAA CoastWatch will be increasing product coverage over the next month.
For more information, please refer to our OLCI near real-time product page.
Level-3 daily sea level anomaly datasets are now available
Updated: March 15, 2018NOAA CoastWatch/OceanWatch is now distributing daily Level-3 sea level anomaly datasets produced by the NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry. The datasets are produced globally with near-real time data from a constellation of radar altimeter missions.
Click here for more information: https://coastwatch.noaa.gov/cw_html/SSH_SeaLevelAnomaly.html
Level-1B OLCI-Sentinel-3A data now available
Updated: April 11, 2018NOAA CoastWatch/OceanWatch is currently distributing near-real time Level-1B full resolution global ocean data from OLCI-Sentinel-3A Copernicus mission in support of operational oceanography.
True color image produced today (15 February 2017) by NOAACoastWatch/OceanWatch from OLCI-Sentinel-3A data.
S-NPP VIIRS Life-of-Mission Science Quality Level-2 Ocean Color products are available
Updated: March 15, 2018Click here for more information: VIIRS Science Quality L2
Version 3.3.2 of the CoastWatch Utilities CoastWatch Data Analysis Tool (CDAT) is now available.
Updated: November 29, 2018CoastWatch Utilities 3.4.1 is now available, please see latest update.