Determining the accuracies of sea-surface temperatures derived from measurements of MODIS and VIIRS

Abstract:

The appropriate application of sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) derived from MODIS and VIIRS requires knowledge of the errors and uncertainties of the SST fields. The accuracies of the SSTs are determined by comparison with independent measurements, usually derived from drifting and moored buoys, and ship-board radiometers.

By using similar cloud detection and clear-sky atmospheric correction algorithms to derived SST from both MODIS’s on Terra and Aqua, and the VIIRS on S-NPP a consistent time series of SSTs can be derived from the first useful Terra MODIS data in 2000 to the present, and by using the same approach to assess their accuracies, a consistent set of errors and uncertainties can also be derived. The presentation will provide a summary of recently modified algorithms used to derive SSTs from the MODIS’s and VIIRS, and discuss the accuracies of the derived fields, including recent improvements to the VIIRS atmospheric correction algorithm to reduce the effects of instrumental artifacts.