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Full catalog/VIIRS_N21-NAVO-L2P-v3.0
VIIRS_N21-NAVO-L2P-v3.0·v3.0·dataset

How warm the sea surface is (NOAA-21)

GHRSST Level 2P NAVO 1 m Depth Global Sea Surface Temperature version 3.0 from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-21 satellite
ocean NASA POCLOUD Level 2P netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Reports how warm the sea surface is, at one meter depth, across nearly the whole globe each day, at roughly 750 m detail. Readings follow the satellite's swath path.

How it's made. Derived by the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office from the VIIRS instrument on the NOAA-21 satellite, processed with their version 3.0 method.

How & where you'd use it. Supports ocean and weather forecasting and helps track marine heatwaves, currents, and ocean conditions; matches the equivalent products from earlier VIIRS satellites for a continuous record.

What's measured

OCEANS › OCEAN TEMPERATURE › SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2024-02-21 → ongoing
  • Measured byNOAA-21 (VIIRS)
  • Processing levelLevel 2P
  • 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 VIIRS_N21-NAVO-L2P-v3.0 dataset produced by the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVO) derives the 1-meter depth Sea Surface Temperature (SST) from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-2 satellite, renamed as NOAA-21 (N21). N21 was launched on November 10, 2022, the 3rd satellite in the US NOAA JPSS series. VIIRS L2P SST products are derived at the native sensor resolution (~0.75 km at nadir, ~1.5 km at swath edge) using NAVO's Level-2 SST processor version 3.0 (v3.0). Data contains the global near daily-coverage Sea Surface Temperature at 1-meter depth with 750 m (along) x 750 m (cross) spatial resolution in swath coordinates. Each netCDF file has 768 x 3200 pixels in size, in compliance with the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) Data Specification version 2 (GDS2). The data record is available back to Feb. 21 2024. The L2P SST v3.0 is the first release at PO.DAAC derived from the L2P SST processor v3.0, which was upgraded from the v2.0 with several significant improvements in processing algorithms, including contamination detection, cloud detection, and data format upgrades. The product is comparable with the NPP VIIRS L2P (https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/VIIRS_NPP-NAVO-L2P-v3.0) and the N20 VIIRS L2P (https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/VIIRS_N20-NAVO-L2P-v3.0). It also has similar coverage and quality as the NOAA ACSPO VIIRS L2P SST (https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/dataset/N21-VIIRS-L2P-ACSPO-v2.80).

Get the data

viirs_n21-navo-l2p-v3.0_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VIIRS_N21-NAVO-L2P-v3.0",
    version="3.0",
    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.