Sea surface temperature (SST) is an ocean parameter that is widely used in monitoring and forecasting the ocean state. The Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE), representing an international consensus specifying the observational requirements for assimilation into model based ocean forecasting systems, requests SST products, updated every six hours with a spatial resolution of 10 km and an accuracy of 0.2ºC. In the frame of the GODAE High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature Pilot Project (GHRSTT-PP) that has been created to address this shortcoming, the Medspiration project represents the European contribution. The objective is to implement a demonstration service for the European area that will generate new daily SST products at 2 km.
CLS has been responsible for:
CLS is in charge of the development of the module dedicated to the generation of the final Level 4 products (L4 products). Two kinds of work can be distinguished, the software development and R&D studies that help us to define the software configuration.
The software development
- Several phases are needed for the development of the specific software "L4 processor". The first one called the technical specification and design engineering phase will define the static and dynamic architecture of the software, then it will be developed during the prototyping phase. Finally, the L4 processor will be implemented in the IFREMER system that will operate the Medspiration system during the demonstration phase. The sensors involved in the analysis are NOAA16-17 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR/NOAA), Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI/ESA), Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR/ESA), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR/NASA) and TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI/NASA).
R&D studies
- The technique proposed to generate the gridded maps of SST is based on optimal interpolation. Some issues that still remain open questions will be investigated: characteristics of the covariance model in term of space-time correlation radius, the merging of two kinds of sensors, the micro-wave (AMSR-E and TMI) with the infra-red (AVHRR, SEVIRI, AATSR), taking into account the specifics errors for each sensor.
Users:
There are several potential users:
- GHRSST-PP, MERSEA
- MERCATOR, FOAM, TOPAZ, MFS…
More information:
Medspiration web sites and links:
