A high-resolution satellite-derived sea surface temperature climatology for the western North Atlantic Ocean

Long-term and high-resolution (similar to 1.2 km) satellite-derived sea Surface temperature (SST) fields of a monthly mean time series for the 1985-1999 period. and a daily climatology have been calculated for the North West Atlantic Ocean. The SST fields extend from 78 degrees W to 41 degrees W in longitude, and 30 degrees N to 56 degrees N ill latitude, encompassing the region off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. to the Southern Labrador Sea. The monthly mean time series, Consists Of 180 cloud-masked monthly mean SST fields, derived from a full-resolution NOAA/NASA Pathfinder SST data set for the 1985-1999 period. The satellite-derived monthly mean SST fields, as compared with ill situ monthly mean near-surface Ocean temperatures from buoys located in the western North Atlantic, yield an overall RMS difference of 1.15 degrees C. The daily climatology, which consists of 365 fields, was derived by applying a least-squares harmonic regression technique On the monthly mean SST time series for the full Study period. The monthly mean and daily climatological SST fields will be useful for Studying inter-annual variability related to climate variability of SST over the study domain. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All Lights reserved.