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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 30, NO. 15, 1811, doi:10.1029/2003GL017673, 2003

A cloud-free, satellite-derived, sea surface temperature analysis for the West Florida Shelf

Ruoying He

College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA


Robert H. Weisberg

College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA


Haiying Zhang

College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA


Frank E. Muller-Karger

College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA


Robert W. Helber

College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA


Abstract

Clouds are problematic in using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery for describing sea surface temperature (SST). The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Microwave Imager (TMI) observes SST through clouds, providing daily, 1/4° maps under all weather conditions excepting rain. A TMI limitation, however, is coarse resolution. Optimal interpolation (OI) is used to generate a cloud-free, 5-km, daily SST analysis for the West Florida Shelf (WFS) by merging the high-resolution (cloud-covered) AVHRR with the coarse-resolution (cloud-free) TMI SST products. Comparisons with in-situ data show good agreements. Given large spatial gradients by coastal ocean processes, this regional analysis has advantage over the global, weekly, 1° Reynolds SST. A 5-year (1998–2002) OI SST analysis is diagnosed using Empirical Orthogonal Functions. The first two modes represent annual cycles, one by surface heat flux and another by shelf circulation dynamics.

Received 2 May 2003; accepted 8 July 2003; published 9 August 2003.

Index Terms: 4219 Oceanography: General: Continental shelf processes; 4275 Oceanography: General: Remote sensing and electromagnetic processes (0689); 4227 Oceanography: General: Diurnal, seasonal, and annual cycles.

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Citation: He, R., R. H. Weisberg, H. Zhang, F. E. Muller-Karger, and R. W. Helber (2003), A cloud-free, satellite-derived, sea surface temperature analysis for the West Florida Shelf, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(15), 1811, doi:10.1029/2003GL017673.