A long-term record of blended satellite and in situ sea-surface temperature for climate monitoring, modeling and environmental studies

Abstract. This paper describes a blended sea-surface temperature (SST) data set that is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Data Record (CDR) program product suite. Using optimum interpolation (OI), in situ and satellite observations are combined on a daily and 0.25° spatial grid to form an SST analysis, i.e., a spatially complete field. A large-scale bias adjustment of the input infrared SSTs is made using buoy and ship observations as a reference. This is particularly important for the time periods when volcanic aerosols from the El Chichón and Mt. Pinatubo eruptions are widespread globally. The main source of SSTs is the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer…