The accuracy of sea surface temperature fields from the advanced along track scanning radiometer

The Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer is an imaging radiometer on board ESA's Envisat satellite. The primary mission aim for AATSR is the measurement of sea surface temperature (SST), on a global scale, to the degrees of accuracy and precision required for climate change research (better than 0.3K ± 1 sigma). Since the launch of Envisat, on 1st March 2002, AATSR has been producing excellent data, with images of high quality in the thermal, near infrared and visible wavelength regions. An intensive validation programme has been underway to assess whether AATSR SST data meet their stringent accuracy requirements. There have been a number of activities for SST validation using, for example, SST data from buoys, global SST analysis fields and SST measurements from high-precision radiometers on research vessels and ships of opportunity. Initial assessment indicates that the AATSR SST shows a global mean deviation of better than 0.3K with respect to in situ observations, with significantly higher levels of accuracy under certain conditions, thereby meeting its performance objectives.