Earthdata Forum

Hello all,

I am looking for the most accurate real time SST data, and cloud free SST data. I was using the Aqua-MODIS satellite, but now I want to use the NOAA20/21-VIIRUS satellites. I have found the data I am looking for here: https://oceandata.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/directdataaccess/Level-2/NOAA20-VIIRS/2025/11-Mar-2025/ . I have also found the earth access python package and was wondering if there was a way to make an API request a few times a day in order to get all of the data that this satellite records. I would like to be able to get the .nc files from this API for SST. Is there a way to do so, I found that you are able to get the same collections on the earthdata search website but I am confused on how to get the data from the url I provided via an API. If there is a better way to do so I am also open to those suggestions as well. I just think it would be really cool to be able to create my own real time maps of SST. Thank you!

Yes, you can automate the download of NOAA20/21 VIIRS SST data using the Earthdata Python package earthaccess. The URL you referenced points to direct data access, but earthaccess can streamline the process by querying and downloading data directly from Earthdata's API.

Here’s a general approach you can follow:

• Authenticate with Earthdata Login
  earthaccess requires your Earthdata credentials to access the data.

• Search for Data Granules
  Use earthaccess to query for NOAA20/21 VIIRS SST data collections based on your preferred temporal and spatial range.

• Download the Data
  Once identified, you can automate the download process directly in Python.

For more details on earthaccess, you can explore the tutorial here:
https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/resources/docs/tutorials/

Thank you I appreciate the help! Would you happen to know of a place where documentation lives on the data collection names? I am having difficulty building a query to this API to extract VIIRS data.

On Earthdata Search, if you type in the search box or select "Keywords > Oceans > Sea Surface Temperature", you'll see all matching collections listed on the right side. You can choose to view them as a list or in a table. In the table view, you'll find useful information such as Long Name, Version, Time, Short Name, Provider, and more.

For more information of a particular collection:
When you find a data collection of interest, such as NOAA-20 VIIRS SST, click the three dots in the top-right corner and select "Collection Details" to find information about the collection. For more details, click "View More Info".

For example, the NOAA-20 VIIRS SST collection's long name is "GHRSST Level 2P NOAA STAR SST v2.80 from VIIRS on NOAA-20 Satellite", and its short name is "VIIRS_N20-STAR-L2P-v2.80".

If you need metadata details for individual files, click the three dots on the upper right corner of a granule, select "View Details", and you'll find all the related information.