Earthdata Forum

In looking at the AQUA MODIS SST monthly data available on Ocean Color, it seems that in 2023 and 2024 there seem to be many more inland SST values than in previous years. The river basins worldwide are much more prominent in these years, and there is a lot of data showing up at northern latitudes. This is especially visible during the summer months (e.g. June). Here are the visualizations for the month of June in the years 2022 - 2024:

June 2022: https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/showimages/MODISA/IMAGES/SST/L3/2022/0601/AQUA_MODIS.20220601_20220630.L3m.MO.SST.sst.4km.nc.png
June 2023: https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/showimages/MODISA/IMAGES/SST/L3/2023/0601/AQUA_MODIS.20230601_20230630.L3m.MO.SST.sst.4km.nc.png
June 2024: https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/showimages/MODISA/IMAGES/SST/L3/2024/0601/AQUA_MODIS.20240601_20240630.L3m.MO.SST.sst.4km.nc.png

Has there been a change in processing that is affecting the outputs? Thank you for your help.

Maria

Maria,

There were modifications to the binning and mapping code that result in the difference you found. The SST algorithm was unchanged.

FYI, we recently introduced a new version of the SST code that significantly improves code readability and maintainability. In that process a couple of minor bugs were fixed. Since the fundamental algorithm and coefficients did not change, we have not reprocessed the data. In consultation with the PI, we have decided to hold off on a mission reprocessing for SST until the missions come to an end (we anticipate for Aqua that will be Fall of 2026, while Terra will continue until early 2027)

Regards,
Sean

Thank you for the explanation, Sean!