Dublin Core
Title
Sea Surface Temperature: From Observation to Applications
Subject
Sea, Ocean, Technology, Marine, Science
Description
Sea surface temperature (SST) has been defined byWorld Meteorological Organization
(WMO) as one of the essential climate variables (ECVs) contributing to the characterization
of Earth’s climate. As one of the ECVs, SST study and analysis have been receiving
growing interest in the last two decades, especially as new databases from satellites have
become increasingly available with higher spatial and temporal resolution. In a global and
accelerated climate change environment, SST can be understood as a proxy of the ocean’s
role as an energy storage facility. This role is especially important to derive future trends in
climate change and their impacts on climate, weather extremes, marine ecosystems, and on
human societies.
The main mechanism by which the ocean interacts with the atmosphere is through
heat and moisture exchanges. Those processes exert a major influence on the development
of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes or torrential rains, which are projected to
increase in frequency and intensity in the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [1]. Hence, good knowledge of SST patterns and trends is
crucial to investigate interactions/feedback with the atmosphere, climate drivers such as
El Niño, and marine biodiversity, but especially to understand predicted future climate
scenarios. Some of these issues have been addressed in this Special Issue, such as marine
heat waves (MHW), SST, and hurricanes interaction or SST trends and projections. This
assessment has been mainly done by analyzing data measured from satellites, but proper
validation with in-situ data is necessary to test and validate satellite sensors. This has
also been addressed in this Special Issue in one of the most biologically diverse and under
menace ecosystems on Earth, the coral reefs.
Satellites measure skin and subskin temperature at the very surface of the sea in
a thin layer at 10 μm and 1 mm depth. Other science branches, such as marine biology,
may need to know temperature at different depths, so the feasibility of using SST in
those studies needs to be investigated. In [2], Gómez et al. investigate the correlation
between different satellite SST databases and in-situ data at the coral reef depth. They
found a good correlation between satellite and in-situ measurements, expected as coral
reefs lie under shallow waters in coastal subtidal areas, but with some seasonal bias that
can be used to correct satellite data for its use in coral reef surveillance. In a somewhat
similar work [3], Colin et al. look for a correlation between a temporally long and spatially
extensive temperature monitoring network, at different sea depths and going deeper than
the previous reference, and satellite SST and sea surface height (SSH) data. The authors
were able to create a regression model with SST and SSH capable of predicting depthvarying
thermal stress from satellite measurements. These two studies highlight the need
for and complementarity of both types of SST measurement, in situ and satellite. This
highlights the importance of promoting both technological development of measurement
methodologies and calibration and validation studies.
(WMO) as one of the essential climate variables (ECVs) contributing to the characterization
of Earth’s climate. As one of the ECVs, SST study and analysis have been receiving
growing interest in the last two decades, especially as new databases from satellites have
become increasingly available with higher spatial and temporal resolution. In a global and
accelerated climate change environment, SST can be understood as a proxy of the ocean’s
role as an energy storage facility. This role is especially important to derive future trends in
climate change and their impacts on climate, weather extremes, marine ecosystems, and on
human societies.
The main mechanism by which the ocean interacts with the atmosphere is through
heat and moisture exchanges. Those processes exert a major influence on the development
of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes or torrential rains, which are projected to
increase in frequency and intensity in the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [1]. Hence, good knowledge of SST patterns and trends is
crucial to investigate interactions/feedback with the atmosphere, climate drivers such as
El Niño, and marine biodiversity, but especially to understand predicted future climate
scenarios. Some of these issues have been addressed in this Special Issue, such as marine
heat waves (MHW), SST, and hurricanes interaction or SST trends and projections. This
assessment has been mainly done by analyzing data measured from satellites, but proper
validation with in-situ data is necessary to test and validate satellite sensors. This has
also been addressed in this Special Issue in one of the most biologically diverse and under
menace ecosystems on Earth, the coral reefs.
Satellites measure skin and subskin temperature at the very surface of the sea in
a thin layer at 10 μm and 1 mm depth. Other science branches, such as marine biology,
may need to know temperature at different depths, so the feasibility of using SST in
those studies needs to be investigated. In [2], Gómez et al. investigate the correlation
between different satellite SST databases and in-situ data at the coral reef depth. They
found a good correlation between satellite and in-situ measurements, expected as coral
reefs lie under shallow waters in coastal subtidal areas, but with some seasonal bias that
can be used to correct satellite data for its use in coral reef surveillance. In a somewhat
similar work [3], Colin et al. look for a correlation between a temporally long and spatially
extensive temperature monitoring network, at different sea depths and going deeper than
the previous reference, and satellite SST and sea surface height (SSH) data. The authors
were able to create a regression model with SST and SSH capable of predicting depthvarying
thermal stress from satellite measurements. These two studies highlight the need
for and complementarity of both types of SST measurement, in situ and satellite. This
highlights the importance of promoting both technological development of measurement
methodologies and calibration and validation studies.
Creator
Editor
Francisco Pastor
Francisco Pastor
Source
https://www.mdpi.com/books
Publisher
MDPI
Date
2021
Contributor
Jadik Wijayanto
Rights
https://doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-0365-2601-0
Relation
https://www.mdpi.com/books/book/4771-sea-surface-temperature-from-observation-to-applications
Format
PDF
Language
English
Type
Textbook
Identifier
ISBN 978-3-0365-2600-3 (Hbk)
ISBN 978-3-0365-2601-0 (PDF)
ISBN 978-3-0365-2601-0 (PDF)
Coverage
Switzerland