Sea Surface Temperature - a Key Environmental Data Record from NPOESS VIIRS

Sea surface temperature (SST) is one of only six environmental data records to be deemed a key performance parameter for the NPOESS mission. This is primarily because of the importance of the geophysical variable itself for oceanography, weather and climate applications. However, SST can also serve as a valuable becnhmark for the performance of the mission itself, in terms of a number of quite fundamental performance metrics that are often difficult to validate in a conventional and quantitative manner. These include instrument calibration and characterization, and performance of important preprocessing steps such as cloud detection. In order to fully exploit this opportunity, it is necessary to analyze the data using a consistent physically-based methodology which takes proper account of all the underlying processes. Such an approach should also add value to the final SST product by permitting realistic bias and uncertainty estimates to be supplied for individual SST retrievals – a vital step in ensuring optimal utility for both operational and climate applications.