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AVHRR Pathfinder version 5.0 and 5.1 global 4km sea surface temperature (SST) daily, 5-day, and monthly harmonic climatologies for 1982-2008

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: May 29, 2026 at 10:53 PM | Dataset Last Updated: January 11, 2022 at 12:00 AM
This dataset contains global, 4km daily, 5-day, and monthly sea surface temperature climatologies derived from harmonic analysis of the AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.0 and 5.1 sea surface temperature time series data for 1982-2008. The daily climatology is available as 366 separate files, each representing one day in a climatological year. The 5-day climatology is available as 73 separate files, each representing a 'pentad,' or 5-day period, in a climatological year. The monthly climatology is available as 12 separate files, each representing one month in a climatological year. The files are in netCDF-4 and fully comply with the GHRSST Data Specification 2.0 for Level 4 products. In addition to climatological sea surface temperature, each file contains standard deviation, sea ice concentration, sea ice concentration error, and land mask information. This accession also includes 'classic', or mean, daily, 5-day, and monthly sea surface temperature climatologies derived from the same Pathfinder time series data. These climatologies were used to gap-fill the harmonic climatologies, and provided the standard deviation information. In some ice-dominated high-latitude areas, the harmonic climatology is poorly constrained due to uneven distribution throughout the year of the valid measurements. For example, at 67.5S, 73W near the Antarctic coast, temperatures estimated in the harmonic climatology reach almost 40C. In these regions, the classic, averaged climatological values may be more reliable.

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0071181 0071182 0075098 SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE AVHRR-2 AVHRR-3 derived products satellite data

Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel non-public
contactPoint 
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describedByType application/octet-steam
description This dataset contains global, 4km daily, 5-day, and monthly sea surface temperature climatologies derived from harmonic analysis of the AVHRR Pathfinder Version 5.0 and 5.1 sea surface temperature time series data for 1982-2008. The daily climatology is available as 366 separate files, each representing one day in a climatological year. The 5-day climatology is available as 73 separate files, each representing a 'pentad,' or 5-day period, in a climatological year. The monthly climatology is available as 12 separate files, each representing one month in a climatological year. The files are in netCDF-4 and fully comply with the GHRSST Data Specification 2.0 for Level 4 products. In addition to climatological sea surface temperature, each file contains standard deviation, sea ice concentration, sea ice concentration error, and land mask information. This accession also includes 'classic', or mean, daily, 5-day, and monthly sea surface temperature climatologies derived from the same Pathfinder time series data. These climatologies were used to gap-fill the harmonic climatologies, and provided the standard deviation information. In some ice-dominated high-latitude areas, the harmonic climatology is poorly constrained due to uneven distribution throughout the year of the valid measurements. For example, at 67.5S, 73W near the Antarctic coast, temperatures estimated in the harmonic climatology reach almost 40C. In these regions, the classic, averaged climatological values may be more reliable.
distribution 
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    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
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identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions/iso/xml/AVHRR_Pathfinder-NODC-v5.0_v5.1-climatologies.xml
issued 2011-06-29T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
[
  "0071181",
  "0071182",
  "0075098",
  "SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE",
  "AVHRR-2",
  "AVHRR-3",
  "derived products",
  "satellite data",
  "NOAA-11",
  "NOAA-14",
  "NOAA-16",
  "NOAA-17",
  "NOAA-18",
  "NOAA-7",
  "NOAA-9",
  "University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science",
  "US National Oceanographic Data Center",
  "US National Oceanographic Data Center",
  "Pathfinder",
  "World-Wide Distribution",
  "climatology",
  "satelliteObservation",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NODC > National Oceanographic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "U-MIAMI/RSMAS > Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami",
  "NOAA/NASA PATHFINDER > NOAA/NASA Pathfinder Program",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Sea Surface Temperature > AVHRR",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Sea Surface Temperature > AVHRR > 4km Pathfinder",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > COASTAL",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > REEF > CORAL REEF",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > CLIMATE INDICATORS > ATMOSPHERIC/OCEAN INDICATORS > SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE INDICES",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > COASTAL PROCESSES > CORAL REEFS",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN TEMPERATURE > SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > TERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE > WATER QUALITY/WATER CHEMISTRY > WATER CHARACTERISTICS > WATER TEMPERATURE",
  "AVHRR-2 > Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-2",
  "AVHRR-3 > Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-3",
  "NOAA-11 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-11",
  "NOAA-14 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-14",
  "NOAA-16 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-16",
  "NOAA-17 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-17",
  "NOAA-18 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-18",
  "NOAA-7 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-7",
  "NOAA-9 > National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-9",
  "NOAA-11 (ICES code: 3101, 1988-2004)",
  "NOAA-14 (ICES code: 3277, 1994-2007)",
  "NOAA-16 (ICES code: 33J9, 2000-2014)",
  "NOAA-17 (ICES code: 33ZS, 2002-2013)",
  "NOAA-18 (ICES code: 33WM, 2005-2016)",
  "NOAA-7 (ICES code: 33V2, 1981-1986)",
  "NOAA-9 (ICES code: 33OO, 1984-1998)",
  "GEOGRAPHIC REGION > GLOBAL OCEAN"
]
landingPage https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact
language 
[]
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2022-01-11T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
{
  "name": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
references 
[
  "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/AVHRR_Pathfinder-NODC-v5.0_v5.1",
  "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0207879"
]
rights otherRestrictions
spatial 180.0,-90.0,-180.0,90.0
temporal 1982-01-01T00:00:00+00:00/2008-12-31T00:00:00+00:00
title AVHRR Pathfinder version 5.0 and 5.1 global 4km sea surface temperature (SST) daily, 5-day, and monthly harmonic climatologies for 1982-2008

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