Data Products  › Product & Algorithm › Caveats of Sea-Surface Temperature product
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Caveats for the standard products

Caveats of Sea-Surface Temperature product

Algorithm development PI: Dr. Akira Shibata (JAXA Earth Observation Research Center)

This document briefly describes some caveats for the AMSR-E Level 2 standard products of sea surface temperature (SST).
Retrieval areas
This product retrieves values of SST over global oceans (except over sea ice). However, values cannot be retrieved in areas of precipitation (greater than about 1mm/h), strong winds(greater than about 17m/s), coastal regions (within 100km from coastlines), and sun-glitter (less than 25 degrees of relative angle between the Sun and observing directions). All possible areas of sea ice are also excluded. Reasons for the missing data are included as the quality flags in the product.

Retrieval range and error
The range of SST retrieval is from -2 to 35 degrees centigrade. Retrieval error was estimated to be within 0.7 degrees centigrade (rms) by comparing to buoy SSTs obtained through the Global Telecommunication System (GTS). The comparison was made using the data of January and July 2003 (one-month data for each) and July 2002 (10 days). Due to the change of the instrument calibration error, the SST retrieval error may increase in the near future. We will continue to monitor the error and tell the necessary steps when the problem occurs.