		Earth Observation Science Group

ATSR: Sea Surface Temperature

Global SST, September 1993
Click on this image to enlarge	Many interesting features can be seen on this monthly and spatially averaged global SST image. The temperature is represented on a scale ranging from purple/blue (coldest) through green to red (warmest. The continents have been masked in black. To the right of the East coast of the USA a thin tongue of warm water can bee seen stretching northwards - the famous Gulf Stream. A relatively cool (yellow) region extends Westwards from Peru into the warm equatorial waters of the Pacific - this is the surface temperature 'signature' of the El Nino event. In non El Nino years this cool tongue does not appear. Spatial resolution: 0.5 degrees
Mutsu Bay, Japan
Click on this image to enlarge	In this thermal satellite image of northern Japan taken using ATSR nadir view at 11mm, the land has been masked in black and the clouds in white. Temperature patterns can clearly be seen on the surface of the ocean, with strong temperature gradients occuring over relatively small distances (few km), tenperatures range from 274 (purple) to 284 (red) Kelvin.. Image size: 512 x 512 km Resolution: 1 km Copyright: ESA/NERC/RAL/LEIC 1995
The Gulf Stream
Click on this image to enlarge	A false colour, daytime ATSR-2 image (11micron channel) of the US Eastern Seaboard, taken on the 16th May 1995. The image is 500 km wide, and covers an area from New York, in the North, to Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, in the South. Hot areas are black and red, while cool areas are white and blue. The Gulf Stream is clearly seen at the bottom right. The Gulf Stream is a warm current (shown in red) which brings warm water from the tropics up to the UK. It is partly because of the Gulf Stream that our climate is so mild. Dramatic images such as this not only illustrate this strong warm current very graphically, but also help us to observe and understand changes that seem to be occuring in the Gulf Stream and how these changes can affect the climate in Britain.
The Balearics
Click on this image to enlarge	This image shows a view of the Balearic Islands as seen from ATSR, the temperature range is from 280K (purple) to 295K (red). The beautiful warm currents and tremendous detail seen to the south-west of Mallorca (The middle of the three purple-coloured islands in the centre) can only be obtained from space using instruments such as ATSR. The coast of North Africa can be seen in purple at the bottom of the image.
The Canaries
Click on this image to enlarge	This is a similar image to that above. This is south of the Canary islands. The coast of Africa can be seen to the right in the image. The most dramatic feature of this image is the giant warm eddy structure in the Atlantic.

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Last Updated 20th September 2000

Web page maintained by: Nigel Richards