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Full catalog/GMI-REMSS-L3U-v8.2a
GMI-REMSS-L3U-v8.2a·v8.2a·dataset

Sea surface temperature from microwave (GPM)

GHRSST Level 3U Global Subskin Sea Surface Temperature from GMI onboard GPM satellite
ocean NASA POCLOUD Level 3 netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Sea surface temperature, specifically the warmth of the thin layer just beneath the ocean's skin, measured globally where the satellite passes.

How it's made. Derived from the GMI microwave radiometer aboard the NASA/JAXA GPM satellite, which senses natural microwave energy from the sea; Remote Sensing Systems processes those readings into temperature using their Version-8 model.

How & where you'd use it. Feeds weather and climate forecasting, ocean monitoring, and tracking of warm and cool ocean patterns; because microwaves see through most clouds, it fills gaps where infrared sensors are blocked.

What's measured

OCEANS › OCEAN TEMPERATURE › SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE › Sub-skin Sea Surface Temperature

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2014-03-04 → ongoing
  • Measured byGPM (GMI)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Watch sea-surface temperature and marine heatwaves
  • Spot algal blooms and ocean-colour shifts
  • Support fisheries and coastal monitoring
Official description

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.

Get the data

gmi-remss-l3u-v8.2a_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GMI-REMSS-L3U-v8.2a",
    version="8.2a",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from POCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.