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Building the SST Climate Data

RecordKenneth S. Casey

NOAA National Oceanographic Data CenterSeattle, November 2010

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The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) opened its doors on November 1, 1960 with only 29 employees who were tasked with compiling the large,

disparate collections of oceanographic data into a single system. A few months later in January of 1961, NODC was formally dedicated by the Asst. Secretary of

the Navy for Research and Development, James H. Wakelin, Jr. (pictured)In 1970, NODC was formally transferred from the U.S. Hydrographic Office to the newly formed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), under

the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Building the SST CDR

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The Way It’s Been

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Acronym Soup

NOAA SDS (A)RCGHRSST RAN-TAG

GCOS SST/SI WG

+ winds and ice

The Way It’s Been

• Unorganized• Uncoordinated• Ad hoc• Piecemeal

… Yet still productive! Progress on many fronts…

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GCOS SST Intercomparison

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Connecting historical in situ and satellite records

GCOS SST Intercomparison

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Example: Linear trend comparisons – http://ghrsst.nodc.noaa.gov

SQUAM

• http://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/sod/sst/squam/index.html

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2009 GHRSST Data Availability

Sensor not in operation or capable of SST observations No plans ye t for GHRSST L2P Efforts u nde rway or propos e d for GHRSST L2P Data available in GHRSS T L2P

Getting closer for both GAC and HRPT

Still no progress

Still no progress

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2010 GHRSST Data Availability

Sensor not in operation or capable of SST observations No plans ye t for GHRSST L2P Efforts u nde rway or propos e d for GHRSST L2P Data available in GHRSS T L2P

Complete, but not at LTSRF yet

Getting closer for both GAC and HRPT

Proposed to NASA ROSES (Vazquez)

Plans now in place for reprocessing during 2013-14

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2011 (?) GHRSST Data Availability

Sensor not in operation or capable of SST observations No plans ye t for GHRSST L2P Efforts u nde rway or propos e d for GHRSST L2P Data available in GHRSS T L2P

Pierre LeBorgne

Ken Casey and Bob Evans

Anne O'Carroll

Peter Cornillon, Helen Beggs

Andy Harris and Eileen Maturi

Jorge Vazquez

Andy Harris and Eileen Maturi

Chelle Gentemann

Chelle Gentemann

Chris Metchant

Pierre LeBorgne

Now and Into the Future

Now…• More Coordination• Clearer understanding of the interrelated

piecesNational programs: NOAA Climate Data Record

Program (CDRP) and the ESA Climate Change Initiative (CCI).

GHRSST RAN-TAG Coordination leading to…

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The SST ECV Product Framework

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SST_depth

SST_fnd SST_subskin

SST_skin

L4

L3

L2

L1

L0

Coarse Less Coarse

Fine Finer

The SST ECV Product Framework

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L4

L3

L2

L1

L0

Coarse Less Coarse

Fine Finer>= 25km, monthly

1 km, sub-daily

SST_depth

SST_fnd SST_subskin

SST_skin

SST_depth

SST_fnd SST_subskin

SST_skin

The SST ECV Product Framework

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L4

L3

L2

L1

L0

Coarse Less Coarse

Fine Finer

Note that not all combinations arepossible

MW

The SST ECV Product Framework

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L4

L3

L2

L1

L0

Coarse Less Coarse

Fine Finer

L0 layer is aboutdata access!

SST_depth

SST_fnd SST_subskin

SST_skin

The SST ECV Product Framework

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L4

L3

L2

L1

L0

Coarse Less Coarse

Fine Finer

Fundamental CDRs

Thematic CDRs

SST_depth

SST_fnd SST_subskin

SST_skin

The SST ECV Product Framework

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L4

L3

L2

L1

L0

Coarse Less Coarse

Fine Finer

User application requirements are fed into the framework

SST_depth

SST_fnd SST_subskin

SST_skin

The SST ECV Product Framework

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L4

L3

L2

L1

L0

Coarse Less Coarse

Fine Finer

From the framework emanate many user applications

SST_depth

SST_fnd SST_subskin

SST_skin

The SST ECV Product Framework

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L4

L3

L2

L1

L0

Coarse Less Coarse

Fine Finer

Special emphasis here at the skin

SST_depth

SST_fnd SST_subskin

SST_skin

Clarifying the Connections

This model is clarifying the connections and providing the basis for a systematic, sustained, coordinated global effort.

Using the SST ECV Framework, the GHRSTS RAN-TAG established a list of prioritized actions necessary to begin piecing together the framework.

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Piecing it Together

• GHRST Prioritized List:1. Begin production of Pathfinder V6, 1981-near

present, in GHRSST L2 and L3 format, for GAC and available LAC/HRPT

2. Fix the calibration of AVHRR and AMSR-E to remove latitudinal and other biases before reprocessing of data sets

3. Create MODIS retrospective data in GHRSST format

4. Complete ARC science for ATSR-1 to AATSR

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Piecing it Together

• GHRSST Prioritized List:5. Assign proposed HadSST3 in situ bias adjustments

on a per-observation basis to allow incorporation into GHRSST reanalysis products

6. Test and possibly integrate improved AVHRR BTs and/or physical retrieval methods into Pathfinder

7. Create GOES retrospective data in GHRSST format

8. Improve data discovery and access mechanisms at GDAC and LTSRF – Live Access Server and THREDDS Catalog

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AVHRR Pathfinder

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SST_depth

SST_fnd SST_subskin

SST_skin

L4

L3

L2

L1

L0

Coarse Less Coarse

Fine Finer

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Pathfinder “Phases”

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3NOAA/NASA

AVHRR Oceans Pathfinder SST

Project(Versions 1-4)

NOAA-supported Pathfinder SST

Program(Version 5)

NOAA-supported with targeted NASA

funding (Version 6 in preparation)

1990-2001 2002-2008 2009-2010+

Current Status of PFV5• 1981 through 2009, 4.6 km• Twice-daily, 5-day, 7-day, 8-day,

and monthly• http://pathfinder.nodc.noaa.gov

– FTP– HTTP– OPeNDAP– WCS and WMS via TDS, LAS soon– ttp://ghrsst.nodc.noaa.gov

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Casey, K.S., T.B. Brandon, P. Cornillon, and R. Evans (2010, in press). “The Past, Present, and Future of the AVHRR Pathfinder SST Program”, in Oceanography From Space, Revisited, eds. V. Barale, J.F.R. Gower and L. Alberotanza, Springer.

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1981-1984/85 Specially-Handled

• Insufficient buoys, so quality-controlled ICOADS ship observations are used– Bias-corrected by subtracting 0.14 K (empirically

determined)– Extreme values eliminated– Noise reduced through smoothing

• Resulted in a five-fold increase in number of matchups and coverage similar to NOAA-14 period

• Matchups then used in the standard PFV5 coefficient estimation routines (5-month sliding windows)

• The large cool bias seen in March 1982 - late 1983 was largely removed

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Pathfinder Improves Over Operational

Operational –

HadSST2(Daytime)

PFV5 – HadSST2(Daytime

)

PFV5 – HadSST2(Nighttim

e)

Operational –

HadSST2(Nighttime

)

Satellite – In Situ

(ºC)

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Pathfinder Improves Over Operational

Operational –

HadSST2(Daytime)

PFV5 – HadSST2(Daytime

)

Satellite – In Situ

(ºC)

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Pathfinder Improves Over Operational

PFV5 – HadSST2(Nighttim

e)

Operational –

HadSST2(Nighttime)

Satellite – In Situ

(ºC)

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Pathfinder During 1982-1983 El Niño

SST Anomaly (ºC)

December 27-31, 1982

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Harmonic Climatology is More Robust

• PFV5 quality=7, day and night, 1982-2008

• 5-day averages

SSTclim=Acos(2πt + B) + Ccos(4πt + D) + E

• Reject where n < 100• Median-fill• Fill remaining gaps with

“classic” climatology (typically ice prone regions)

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Harmonic Climatology is More RobustClassic

Fails HarmonicSucceeds

• PFV5 quality=7, day and night, 1982-2008

• 5-day averages

SSTclim=Acos(2πt + B) + Ccos(4πt + D) + E

• Reject where n < 100• Median-fill• Fill remaining gaps with

“classic” climatology (typically ice prone regions)

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Climatology Benefits from Added Years

Good

Failed to converge

Less than 100

No Data

Land1985-2006

1982-2008

Pathfinder Still Being Improved!

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Operational –

HadSST2(Daytime)

PFV5 – HadSST2(Daytime

)

PFV5 – HadSST2(Nighttim

e)

Operational –

HadSST2(Nighttime

)

Satellite – In Situ

(ºC)

Seasonal and latitudinal patterns being addressed with “LATBAND” coefficients

Plus improvements to reference field, land masks, spatial binning, and GHRSST-compliance

PFV6 Workflow Overview

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L1B AVHRR

SeaDAS code base

Winds, sea ice, aerosols

Quality Assurance

PFV6L2PL3UL3C

netCDF

GHRSST Generator

Archive, Data Access and User Services

Climatologies + Products

Coefficient Generator

Detailed PFV6 WorkflowGAC files in CLASS

L1B

GAC files on local server

Order and

download

GAC file list & aci.sh

mkctrlfiles.pl aci.sh

aci

RadianceFiles

Geolocation

Files

aciseg.sh (whole date

day)

GAC, seg filesaciseg

Ancillary data:Reference SST

10m windsSea ice

Aerosol

l2gen_both.sh

l2gen_both

par files & l2gen_both

.sh

mkl2gen_both.parfile.pl

L2PAscending

netCDF (merged)

L2 PDescending

netCDF(merged)

L3C Descending

netCDF

L3 CAscending

netCDF

segRevise.pl

Updated seg files

with merging

info

conv_hdf_nc_L2P

l2p_proc.pl

L2 HDF products

l3c_proc.pl

conv_hdf_nc_L3C

par files & l2bin_both.

sh

mkl2bin_both.parfile.pl

L3 HDFproducts

file list descending

file list ascending

L3 binnedDescending

HDF

L3 binnedAscending

HDF

L3C smiDescending

HDF

L3C smiAscending

HDF

smigen _both

smigen_both

smigen_both

createl3bin.pl

L3U smiHDF

L3U Ascending

netCDF

L3U Descending

netCDF

l3c_proc.pl

conv_hdf_nc_L3C

l3u_proc.plconv_hdf_nc

_L3U

l2bin_both.sh

l2bin_both

l3bin_both.sh

l3bin_both

l3bin_both.sh

l3bin_both

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Coming up…

Details on the algorithm improvements in PFV6 in the presentation by Bob Evans

Questions?