Sea Surface Temperature (SST)
D1. Physical and chemical oceanography and marine meteorologyDefinition
Temperature of the upper few meters of the ocean.
Sea surface temperature is the temperature of the upper few meters of the ocean and the most widely measured ocean variable. Satellite infrared and microwave radiometers, drifters, moored buoys, and ships feed blended analyses such as OISST and the GHRSST products. SST anomalies define El Nino, marine heatwaves, and tropical-cyclone heat potential, and SST is a core input to weather and climate models.