NSST provides global nighttime sea surface temperature estimates derived from thermal infrared observations acquired during local night to minimize diurnal warming and sun glint. Nighttime SST is widely used to detect ocean fronts, support fisheries habitat models (when paired with chlor_a, Kd_490, PAR), and provide stable inputs for air–sea fluxes and climate analyses. As with all IR-based SST, uncertainties increase under thin clouds, heavy aerosols/dust, or strong thermal gradients—refer to per-file flags and documentation before analysis.
Geophysical variables in this suite include:
- sst — Sea Surface Temperature (°C)
- qual_sst — Quality levels for Sea Surface Temperature (integer quality flag)