Climate & Weather

Cover Image
Product Types	Ocean Color Sea Surface Height Sea Surface Roughness Sea Surface Temperature Sea Surface Winds

Ocean acidification in the Caribbean

Date Posted	September 23, 2021
Content Type	User Story

Content	In collaboration with the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory's Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division and NOAA Coral Reef Watch, the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico node of CoastWatch produces an ocean acidification product suite for the greater Caribbean region to track changes in the surface ocean that can be used as an important tool in coral reef research and management.

The Tongue of the Ocean

Date Posted	September 23, 2021
Content Type	User Story

Content	The Tongue of the Ocean is a deep water basin in the Bahamas that is surrounded to the east, west and south by a carbonate bank known as the Great Bahama Bank. The deep blue water of the Tongue is a stark contrast to the shallow turquoise waters of the surrounding Bank.

A Satellite's View of Coastal Erosion

Date Posted	September 23, 2021
Content Type	User Story

Content	One expected impact of climate change is an increase in the frequency and severity of storms in the eastern United States. As such, many coastal communities and ecosystems are increasingly vulnerable to the detrimental impacts of coastal erosion. The CoastWatch East Coast node monitors coastal erosion by tracking in-water sediment values.

Detecting Sea Level Anomalies with Satellites

Date Posted	September 23, 2021
Content Type	User Story

Content	By studying sea level anomalies, scientists can improve understanding of ocean circulation patterns and improve forecasts of climatological events such as El Niño and La Niña. The NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry produces daily near-real time global sea level anomaly datasets from a constellation of radar altimeter missions.

Improving Satellite Sea Surface Temperature Analysis

Date Posted	September 23, 2021
Content Type	User Story

Content	Information about sea surface temperature is important for weather and ocean forecasting, climate monitoring, military and defense operations, ecosystem assessment, fisheries analyses and tourism operations. NOAA's Sea Surface Temperature Team is working to improve their products by reanalyzing past data with NOAA's Advanced Clear-Sky Processor for Oceans (ACSPO) using the enterprise algorithm.

Colors and Confusion: Making Better Color Choices for Data Visualization

Date Posted	September 23, 2021
Content Type	User Story

Content	Communication of scientific information and data to the public is part of NOAA’s mission, and scientific visualization is often the public’s first encounter with the agency’s data. This post gives an overview of recent advances and considerations for selecting and improving color selection for remote sensing data. NOAA CoastWatch will be experimenting with different colors for its data presentations.

Great Lakes Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook

Date Posted	March 20, 2019
Content Type	User Story

Content	U.S. and Canadian Great Lakes agencies work together to document significant quarterly events, seasonal and yearly changes for the Great Lakes region and compile them into quarterly reports. NOAA Great Lakes CoastWatch data used in these bulletins includes Sea Surface Temperature, Synthetic Aperture Radar and real time marine data from buoys, coastal met stations, airports, and ships.

Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential

Date Posted	March 20, 2019
Content Type	User Story

Content	NOAA's Atlantic Oceanography & Meteorological Laboratory produces a Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential (TCHP) product represents a robust measure of how much energy is available in the ocean to sustain or modify the intensity of tropical cyclones.The NOAA CoastWatch Geo-Polar Blended surface sea temperature product and sea surface height data are used to produce global daily TCHP fields.

Temperature Climate Indicators of Estuaries

Date Posted	July 11, 2019
Content Type	User Story

Content	The National Estuary Program identifies, protects, and conserves water quality for ecologically significant estuaries and surrounding watersheds. The National Estuary Program uses Sea Surface Temperature time series products produced by the NOAA CoastWatch East Coast Node for estuary management.

Monitoring Sea Surface Winds and Sea Ice with Satellite Radar

Date Posted	September 23, 2021
Content Type	User Story

Content	Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an active radar satellite instrument that transmits microwave pulses that bounce off the Earth’s surface. The radar signals are then processed into imagery that can be used to derive several geographic and non-geographic features including: wind speeds, oil spills, sea ice and ship detection.

NOAA-15 AVHRR Scan Motor Issue

Date Posted	October 28, 2022
Content Type	Announcement

Content	NOAA-15 AVHRR scan motor has been having issues. NOAA CoastWatch recommends using other spacecraft and ACSPO products (like the new daily L3S global 2km product) for your sea surface temperature needs. Please connect with the helpdesk at coastwatch.info@noaa.gov if you are looking for additional guidance regarding your switch to alternative SST sources.

CoastWatch Tools and Data Featured in Undergraduate Courses

Date Posted	May 26, 2022
Content Type	User Story

Content	Dr. Sherry Palacios from CSUMB utilizes CoastWatch ERDDAP, Data Portal, and training materials in her oceanography curricula.

Gulf of Mexico Loop Current

Date Posted	September 23, 2021
Content Type	User Story

Content	The Gulf of Mexico loop current brings warm Caribbean water northward between the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba and into the Gulf. The current loops around the Gulf, flows southeastward into the Florida Strait where it serves as a parent to the Florida current and ultimately joins the Gulf Stream.

Annotated Ocean Color from VIIRS

Date Posted	September 1, 2021
Content Type	Gallery Images

Cumbre Vieja Volcanic Eruption

Date Posted	September 28, 2021
Content Type	Gallery Images

Predicting Lake Ice Drifts in Cleveland

Date Posted	March 23, 2022
Content Type	User Story

Content	Meteorologists at the Cleveland Weather Forecast Office tell a story exemplifying how CoastWatch data supports their mission, and how accurate predictions can save lives.

Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai Eruption

Date Posted	April 1, 2022
Content Type	Gallery Images

Content	Visible satellite images taken during the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption that occured on Jan. 15, 2022.

Predicting Winter Weather in Michigan

Date Posted	March 23, 2022
Content Type	User Story

Content	Forecasters at the Grand Rapids Weather Forecast Office describe how they use CoastWatch data to predict lake effect snow, freezing spray, and more.

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