![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081020104542im_/http://veimages.gsfc.nasa.gov//13852/sst-anomaly-colorbar.thumb.png)
Images & Animations
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Credit
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
Global Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies from June, 2002 to September, 2003 (WMS)
The temperature of the surface of the world's oceans provides a clear indication of the state of the Earth's climate and weather. The AMSR-E instrument on the Aqua satellite measures the temperature of the top 1 millimeter of the ocean every day, even through the clouds. If the average sea surface temperature for a particular date is subtracted from the measured temperature for that date, the resulting sea surface temperature anomaly can be used to accurately assess the current state of the oceans. The anomaly can serve as an early warning system for weather phenomena and can be used to indicate forthcoming problems with fish populations and coral reef health. In this visualization of the anomaly covering the period from June, 2002, to September, 2003, the most obvious effects are a successive warming and cooling along the equator to the west of Peru, the signature of an El Nino/La Nina cycle. Around January 1, 2003, a cooler than normal region of the ocean appears in this region as part of a La Nina and flows westward, driven by the trade winds. The waves that appear on the edges of this cooler area are called tropical instability waves.
Color bar for the Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly animation. Temperature differences are given in degrees Celsius.
Metadata
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Sensor
Aqua/AMSR-E -
Animation ID
2906 -
Video ID
None -
Start Timecode
00:00:00:00 -
End Timecode
00:00:00:00 -
Animator
Eric Sokolowsky, Greg Shirah, Jesse Allen -
Studio
SVS -
Visualization Date
2004/02/12 -
Scientist
Frank J. Wentz (Remote Sensing Systems), Chelle Gentemann (Remote Sensing Systems) -
Keywords
Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly -
DLESE Subject
Physical oceanography -
Georeference Data
Geographic Projection: Latitude extents -90, 90. Longitude extents -180, 180. -
Data Date
2002/06/02 - 2003/09/07 -
Story URL
http://www.ghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/AMSR/ -
Animation Type
Regular