Sea surface temperature
Sea surface temperature (SST) is the water temperature at the surface. In practical terms, the exact meaning of "surface" will vary according to the measurement method used. A satellite infrared radiometer indirectly measures the temperature of a very thin layer (about 10 micrometres thick) or skin of the ocean (leading to the phrase skin temperature) representing the top millimeter; a thermometer attached to an already fastened or wandering buoy in the ocean would measure the temperature at a specific depth (e.g. the top 1 meter below the sea surface); the measurements regularly made from ships are often from the engine water intakes and may be at various depths in the upper 20 m of the ocean. Note that the depth of measurement in this case will vary with the cargo aboard the vessel.
Sea Surface Temperature Media
Sea surface temperature since 1979 in the extrapolar region (between 60 degrees south and 60 degrees north latitude).
Global map of sea surface temperature, showing warmer areas around the equator and colder areas around the poles (20 December 2013 at 1-km resolution).
Sea surface temperature and flows
Weekly average sea surface temperature in the ocean during the first week of February 2011, during a period of La Niña[broken anchor].
The 1997 El Niño observed by TOPEX/Poseidon. The white areas off the tropical coasts of South and North America indicate the pool of warm water.
Surface air temperatures over land masses have been increasing faster than the sea surface temperature.
The global average sea surface temperature has been increasing since around 1900 (graph showing annual average and 5-year smoothed average, relative to the average value for the years 1951-1980).
Temperature profile of the surface layer of the ocean (a) at night and (b) during the day
2003–2011 SST based on MODIS Aqua data
Sea-effect snow bands near the Korean Peninsula
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