Estimation of sea surface temperatures around Japan using the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR)/NOAA-11

Abstract

The accuracy of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)/NOAA-11 is examined by comparison with sea-truth SSTs obtained from ocean data buoys durings November 1988 through December 1989. We made a 122 point data set of buoy SSTs from the oceans around Japan and the corresponding brightness temperatures of channels 4 and 5 during cloud free periods. The satellite temperatures are corrected for atmospheric effects using the NOAA Multi-Channel SST (MCSST) and Cross Product SST (CPSST) algorithms. The two algorithms give similar results for our data set and result in biases of about −0.1°C with rms errors of about 0.6°C relative to buoy SSTs. It is found that MCSSTs and CPSSTs tend to be higher than SSTs from the buoy in the Japan Sea in summer. New coefficients for the MCSST equations suitable for our data set are determined and the resultant rms error is 0.49°C. If we eliminate the cluster of anomalous summer data in the Japan Sea, the rms error becomes 0.43°C.