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Office of Satellite and Product Operations
Oceanic Heat Content (OHC) is the measure of the integrated vertical temperature from the sea surface to the depth of the 26°C isotherm and computed from the altimeter-derived isotherm depths in the upper ocean relative to 20°C. Global 0.25 degree grids are generated daily for OHC, mixed layer depth and depths of 20°C and 26°C isotherms for 3 ocean basins: North Atlantic, North Pacific and South Pacific
Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery maps the surface microwave radar reflectivity at resolutions from a sub-meter to 100 m depending on the particular SAR satellite and mode. Since a radar provides its own illumination, imagery is independent of the time of day. At typical radar frequencies, SARs can image through clouds, so SARs are considered "all-weather" instruments. Several geophysical parameters can be derived from SAR including sea surface wind speed.
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) / Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) Wind Speed
Ocean Surface Vector Winds (OSVW; magnitude and direction) from the Ocean Scatterometer (OSCAT) on SCATSAT-1.
Ocean Surface Vector Winds (OSVW; magnitude and direction) from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) on Metop-A, Metop-B, and Metop-C. Metop-A was decommissioned November 15, 2021.
Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery maps the surface microwave radar reflectivity at resolutions from a sub-meter to 100 m depending on the particular SAR satellite and mode. Since a radar provides its own illumination, imagery is independent of the time of day. At typical radar frequencies, SARs can image through clouds, so SARs are considered "all-weather" instruments. Several geophysical parameters can be derived from SAR including sea surface wind speed.
The NOAA geo-polar blended SST is a daily 0.05° (~5km) global high resolution satellite-based sea surface temperature (SST) Level-4 analyses generated on an operational basis. This analysis combines SST data from US, Japanese and European geostationary infrared imagers, and low-earth orbiting infrared (U.S. and European) SST data, into a single high-resolution 5-km product. The three flavors of blended SST products are night only; day/night, and diurnal warming.
VIIRS Sea Ice Concentration, Sea Ice Thickness and Ice Surface Temperature NOAA CoastWatch/OceanWatch/PolarWatch Level 3, Daily and daily 4-day rolling merged, mapped composites in both polar stereographic projections and CW sector mapped for Northern and Southern hemispheres.
NOAA CoastWatch / OceanWatch / PolarWatch Sea Ice Concentration, Level 3, daily and daily 4-day rolling merge, polar stereographic mapped composites - AMSR-2
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution are generating operational sea surface temperature (SST) retrievals from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites GOES-East and West. The generation of SSTs began with GOES-8 in 2000 and has continued to be generated through GOES-15
