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Sea Surface Temperature (HadISST 1.1)

Posted on 16 January 2009

The purpose of this study was to characterise spatial and temporal patterns in sea surface temperatures in the Great Barrier Reef.

Annual mean sea surface temperatures (1 degrees latitude-longitude grid size) were derived from the monthly sea surface temperatures  from the Global Sea surface Temperature database 'HadISST 1.1', from the Hadley Centre for Climate Research, United Kingdom Meteorological Office. Original HadISST data are based on smoothed and processed in situ sea instrument surface measurements and satellite derived estimates of SST, compiled for the period 1870 - present (Rayner et al. 2003). The presented version of this dataset are based on annual means of 42 grid cells which were further processed and smoothed. A mean value for the periods 1900 to 1920, and 1980 to 2005, and the differences between these two periods, are also presented.

See Hadley Centre Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperature data set (HadISST) for the original data source.

  • Hadley Centre for Climate Change
  • (extracted and processed by Glenn De'ath and Janice Lough)
Custodian(s)
  • Hadley Centre for Climate Change, UK Meteorological Office
Owner Institution(s)

Mean annual sea surface temperature: degrees Celsius;

Data Units
Great Barrier Reef (1 degrees latitude-longitude grid). The original data cover all seas of the World.
Region & Spatial Extent
1870 - 2008
Data Collection
Ongoing (the original data are being updated every month)
Maintenance & Update Frequency
Copyright remains with the data owners. HadISST1 is subject to Crown copyright protection. The material may be downloaded to file or printer for the purposes of private study and scientific research. Any other proposed use of the material is subject to a copyright licence available from the Met Office. Licences and further information can be obtained from the Met Office IPR Officer, Met Office, FitzRoy Road, Exeter, Devon, EX1 3PB. E-mail: ipr@metoffice.gov.uk. For further information on Crown Copyright policy and licensing arrangements, see the guidance featured on HMSO's web site. When publishing work using the data, please use the following citation: Rayner, N. A.; Parker, D. E.; Horton, E. B.; Folland, C. K.; Alexander, L. V.; Rowell, D. P.; Kent, E. C.; Kaplan, A.; Global analyses of sea surface temperature, sea ice, and night marine air temperature since the late nineteenth century J. Geophys. Res.Vol. 108, No. D14, 4407 10.1029/2002JD002670 The source should also be quoted in the acknowledgements section as www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs.
Resource Constraints
  • Rayner NA, Parker DE, Horton EB, Folland CK, Alexander LV, Rowell DP, Kent EC, Kaplan A (2003) Global analyses of sea surface temperature, sea ice, and night marine air temperature since the late nineteenth century. J Geophys Res 108. doi:10.1029/2002JD002670 (free download at http://badc.nerc.ac.uk/data/hadisst/HadISST_paper.pdf ).
References
Google Earth Data
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