Initial Evaluation of the Sensor-Specific Error Statistics in the NOAA Advanced Clear-Sky Processor for Oceans SST System: Diurnal Variation Signals Captured

Abstract

The newly designed sensor-specific error statistics (SSES) for sea surface temperature (SST) in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Clear-Sky Processor for Oceans (ACSPO) system is evaluated using six months (September 15, 2017–March 14, 2018) of ACSPO SST derived from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) flown onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, SSTVIIRS. SSES bias field is shown to generally capture the temperature differences between the surface SSTVIIRS and the in situ SSTs (0.2–1 m) in both daytime and nighttime, especially at low-mid latitudes. Daytime SSES can capture, in addition to several other physical factors, the diurnal variation differences between the SSTVIIRS and SST in situ over most of the global ocean. The SSES biases also accurately pick up the cooling effect on satellite SST retrievals caused by the Saharan dust over the eastern tropical–subtropical Atlantic Ocean. However, at high latitudes, especially over the Southern Ocean where in situ SST measurements are sparse, and strong winds are persistent, the current ACSPO SSES biases may be suboptimal.