The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) was launched on 4 May 2002, aboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) provided AMSR-E to NASA as an indispensable part of Aqua's global hydrology mission. Over the oceans, AMSR-E is measuring a number of important geophysical parameters, including sea surface temperature (SST), wind speed, atmospheric water vapor, cloud water, and rain rate. A key feature of AMSR-E is its capability to see through clouds, thereby providing an uninterrupted view of global SST and surface wind fields. Remote Sensing Systems (RSS, or REMSS) is the provider of these SST data for the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) Project, performs a detailed processing of AMSR-E instrument data in two stages. The first stage produces a near-real-time (NRT) product (identified by "_rt_" within the file name) which is made as available as soon as possible. This is generally within 3 hours of when the data are recorded. Although suitable for many timely uses the NRT products are not intended to be archive quality. "Final" data (currently identified by "v7" within the file name) are processed when RSS receives the atmospheric model National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Final Analysis (FNL) Operational Global Analysis. The NCEP wind directions are particularly useful for retrieving more accurate SSTs and wind speeds. This dataset adheres to the GHRSST Data Processing Specification (GDS) version 2 format specifications.

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) was launched on 4 May 2002, aboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) provided AMSR-E to NASA as an indispensable part of Aqua's global hydrology mission. Over the oceans, AMSR-E is measuring a number of important geophysical parameters, including sea surface temperature (SST), wind speed, atmospheric water vapor, cloud water, and rain rate. A key feature of AMSR-E is its capability to see through clouds, thereby providing an uninterrupted view of global SST and surface wind fields. Remote Sensing Systems (RSS, or REMSS) is the provider of these SST data for the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) Project, performs a detailed processing of AMSR-E instrument data in two stages. The first stage produces a near-real-time (NRT) product (identified by "_rt_" within the file name) which is made as available as soon as possible. This is generally within 3 hours of when the data are recorded. Although suitable for many timely uses the NRT products are not intended to be archive quality. "Final" data (currently identified by "v7" within the file name) are processed when RSS receives the atmospheric model National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Final Analysis (FNL) Operational Global Analysis. The NCEP wind directions are particularly useful for retrieving more accurate SSTs and wind speeds. This dataset adheres to the GHRSST Data Processing Specification (GDS) version 2 format specifications.

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite was launched on February 27th, 2014 with the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) instrument on board. The GPM mission is a joint effort between NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other international partners. In march 2005, NASA has chosen the Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado to build the GMI instrument on the continued success of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite by expanding current coverage of precipitation from the tropics to the entire world. GMI is a dual-polarization, multi-channel, conical-scanning, passive microwave radiometer with frequent revisit times. One of the primary differences between GPM and other satellites with microwave radiometers is the orbit, which is inclined 65 degrees, allowing a full sampling of all local Earth times repeated approximately every 2 weeks. The GPM platform undergoes yaw maneuvers approximately every 40 days to compensate for the sun's changing position and prevent the side of the spacecraft facing the sun from overheating. Today, the GMI instrument plays an essential role in the worldwide measurement of precipitation and environmental forecasting. Sea Surface Temperature (SST) is one of its major products. The GMI data from the Remote Sensing System (REMSS) have been produced using an updated RTM, Version-8. The V8 brightness temperatures from GMI are slightly different from the V7 brightness temperatures; The SST datasets are available in near-real time (NRT) as they arrive, with a delay of about 3 to 6 hours, including the Daily, 3-Day, Weekly, and Monthly time series products.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) is a well calibrated passive microwave radiometer, similar to the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I), that contains lower frequency channels required for sea surface temperature (SST) retrievals. The TRMM is part of the NASA's mission to planet Earth, and is a joint venture between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to measure precipitation, water vapor, sea surface temperature (SST) and surface wind in the global tropical regions and was launched in 27 November 1997 from the Tanegashima Space Center in Tanegashima, Japan. The TRMM satellite travels west to east in a 402 km altitude semi-equatorial processing orbit that results in day-to-day changes in the observation time of any given earth location between 38S and 38N. Remote Sensing Systems (REMSS) has produced a Version-7.1a TMI SST dataset for the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) by applying an algorithm to the 10.7 GHz channel through a removal of surface roughness effects. In contrast to infrared SST observations, microwave retrievals can be measured through clouds, which are nearly transparent at 10.7 GHz. Microwave retrievals are also insensitive to water vapor and aerosols. The algorithm for retrieving SSTs from radiometer data is described in "AMSR Ocean Algorithm."

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) was launched on 4 May 2002, aboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) provided AMSR-E to NASA as an indispensable part of Aqua's global hydrology mission. Over the oceans, AMSR-E is measuring a number of important geophysical parameters, including sea surface temperature (SST), wind speed, atmospheric water vapor, cloud water, and rain rate. A key feature of AMSR-E is its capability to see through clouds, thereby providing an uninterrupted view of global SST and surface wind fields. Remote Sensing Systems (RSS, or REMSS) is the provider of these SST data for the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) Project, performs a detailed processing of AMSR-E instrument data in two stages. The first stage produces a near-real-time (NRT) product (identified by "_rt_" within the file name) which is made as available as soon as possible. This is generally within 3 hours of when the data are recorded. Although suitable for many timely uses the NRT products are not intended to be archive quality. "Final" data (currently identified by "v7" within the file name) are processed when RSS receives the atmospheric model National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Final Analysis (FNL) Operational Global Analysis. The NCEP wind directions are particularly useful for retrieving more accurate SSTs and wind speeds. This dataset adheres to the GHRSST Data Processing Specification (GDS) version 2 format specifications.

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) was launched on 4 May 2002, aboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) provided AMSR-E to NASA as an indispensable part of Aqua's global hydrology mission. Over the oceans, AMSR-E is measuring a number of important geophysical parameters, including sea surface temperature (SST), wind speed, atmospheric water vapor, cloud water, and rain rate. A key feature of AMSR-E is its capability to see through clouds, thereby providing an uninterrupted view of global SST and surface wind fields. Remote Sensing Systems (RSS, or REMSS) is the provider of these SST data for the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) Project, performs a detailed processing of AMSR-E instrument data in two stages. The first stage produces a near-real-time (NRT) product (identified by "_rt_" within the file name) which is made as available as soon as possible. This is generally within 3 hours of when the data are recorded. Although suitable for many timely uses the NRT products are not intended to be archive quality. "Final" data (currently identified by "v7" within the file name) are processed when RSS receives the atmospheric model National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Final Analysis (FNL) Operational Global Analysis. The NCEP wind directions are particularly useful for retrieving more accurate SSTs and wind speeds. This dataset adheres to the GHRSST Data Processing Specification (GDS) version 2 format specifications.

GDS2 Version -The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) was launched on 18 May 2012, onboard the Golbal Change Observation Mission - Water (GCOM-W) satellite developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The GCOM-W mission aims to establish the global and long-term observation system to collect data, which is needed to understand mechanisms of climate and water cycle variations, and demonstrate its utilization. AMSR2 onboard the first generation of the GCOM-W satellite will continue Aqua/AMSR-E observations of water vapor, cloud liquid water, precipitation, SST, sea surface wind speed, sea ice concentration, snow depth, and soil moisture. AMSR2 is a remote sensing instrument for measuring weak microwave emission from the surface and the atmosphere of the Earth. From about 700 km above the Earth, AMSR2 will provide us highly accurate measurements of the intensity of microwave emission and scattering. The antenna of AMSR2 rotates once per 1.5 seconds and obtains data over a 1450 km swath. This conical scan mechanism enables AMSR2 to acquire a set of daytime and nighttime data with more than 99% coverage of the Earth every 2 days. Remote Sensing Systems (RSS, or REMSS), providers of these SST data for the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) Project, performs a detailed processing of AMSR-E instrument data in two stages. The first stage produces a near-real-time (NRT) product (identified by "rt" within the file name) which is made as available as soon as possible. This is generally within 3 hours of when the data are recorded. Although suitable for many timely uses the NRT products are not intended to be archive quality. "Final" data (currently identified by "v8" within the file name) are processed when RSS receives the atmospheric mode NCEP FNL analysis. The NCEP wind directions are particularly useful for retrieving more accurate SSTs and wind speeds. The final "v8" products will continue to accumulate new swaths (half orbits) until the maps are full, generally within 2 days.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) is a well calibrated passive microwave radiometer, similar to the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I), that contains lower frequency channels required for sea surface temperature (SST) retrievals. The TRMM is part of the NASA's mission to planet Earth, and is a joint venture between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to measure precipitation, water vapor, sea surface temperature (SST) and surface wind in the global tropical regions and was launched in 27 November 1997 from the Tanegashima Space Center in Tanegashima, Japan. The TRMM satellite travels west to east in a 402 km altitude semi-equatorial processing orbit that results in day-to-day changes in the observation time of any given earth location between 38S and 38N. Remote Sensing Systems (REMSS) has produced a Version-7.1a TMI SST dataset for the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) by applying an algorithm to the 10.7 GHz channel through a removal of surface roughness effects. In contrast to infrared SST observations, microwave retrievals can be measured through clouds, which are nearly transparent at 10.7 GHz. Microwave retrievals are also insensitive to water vapor and aerosols. The algorithm for retrieving SSTs from radiometer data is described in "AMSR Ocean Algorithm."

A Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) global Level 4 sea surface temperature analysis produced daily on a 0.25-degree grid at Remote Sensing Systems. This product uses optimal interpolation (OI) from microwave (MW) sensors including the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI), the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI), the NASA Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSRE), the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) onboard the GCOM-W1 satellite, and WindSat operates on the Coriolis satellite. The through-cloud capabilities of microwave radiometers provide a valuable picture of global sea surface temperature (SST). This analysis does not use any in situ SST data such as drifting buoy SST. Comparing with previous version 4.0 dataset, the version 5.0 has made the updates in several areas, including the diurnal warming model, the sensor-specific error statistics (SSES) for each microwave sensor, the sensor correlation model, and the quality mask.

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) was launched on 18 May 2012, onboard the Global Change Observation Mission - Water (GCOM-W) satellite developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The GCOM-W mission aims to establish the global and long-term observation system to collect data, which is needed to understand mechanisms of climate and water cycle variations, and demonstrate its utilization. AMSR2 onboard the first generation of the GCOM-W satellite will continue Aqua/AMSR-E observations of water vapor, cloud liquid water, precipitation, SST, sea surface wind speed, sea ice concentration, snow depth, and soil moisture. AMSR2 is a remote sensing instrument for measuring weak microwave emission from the surface and the atmosphere of the Earth. From about 700 km above the Earth, AMSR2 will provide us highly accurate measurements of the intensity of microwave emission and scattering. The antenna of AMSR2 rotates once per 1.5 seconds and obtains data over a 1450 km swath. This conical scan mechanism enables AMSR2 to acquire a set of daytime and nighttime data with more than 99% coverage of the Earth every 2 days. Remote Sensing Systems (RSS, or REMSS), providers of these SST data for the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) Project, performs a detailed processing of AMSR2 instrument data in two stages. The first stage produces a near-real-time (NRT) product (identified by "_rt_" within the file name) which is made as available as soon as possible. This is generally within 3 hours of when the data are recorded. Although suitable for many timely uses the NRT products are not intended to be archive quality. "Final" data (currently identified by "v08" within the file name) are processed when RSS receives the atmospheric model National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Final Analysis (FNL) Operational Global Analysis. The NCEP wind directions are particularly useful for retrieving more accurate SSTs and wind speeds. This dataset adheres to the GHRSST Data Processing Specification (GDS) version 2 format specifications.