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• 1. [Article] Long-Term Sea Surface Temperature Variability along the U.S. East Coast

  Sea surface temperature variations along the entire U.S. East Coast from 1875 to 2007 are characterized using a collection of historical observations from lighthouses and lightships combined with recent ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Long-Term Sea Surface Temperature Variability along the U.S. East Coast Author: Shearman, R. Kipp, Lentz, Steven J. Sea surface temperature variations along the entire U.S. East Coast from 1875 to 2007 are characterized using a collection of historical observations from lighthouses and lightships combined with recent buoy and shore-based measurements. Long-term coastal temperature trends are warming in the Gulf of Maine [1.0° ± 0.3°C (100 yr)⁻¹] and Middle Atlantic Bight [0.7° ± 0.3°C (100 yr)⁻¹], whereas trends are weakly cooling or not significant in the South Atlantic Bight [−0.1° ± 0.3°C (100 yr)⁻¹] and off Florida [−0.3° ± 0.2°C (100 yr)⁻¹]. Over the last century, temperatures along the northeastern U.S. coast have warmed at a rate 1.8–2.5 times the regional atmospheric temperature trend but are comparable to warming rates for the Arctic and Labrador, the source of coastal ocean waters north of Cape Hatteras (36°N). South of Cape Hatteras, coastal ocean temperature trends match the regional atmospheric temperature trend. The observations and a simple model show that along-shelf transport, associated with the mean coastal current system running from Labrador to Cape Hatteras, is the mechanism controlling long-term temperature changes for this region and not the local air–sea exchange of heat. Title: Long-Term Sea Surface Temperature Variability along the U.S. East Coast Author: Shearman, R. Kipp, Lentz, Steven J. Sea surface temperature variations along the entire U.S. East Coast from 1875 to 2007 are characterized using a collection of historical observations from lighthouses and lightships combined with recent buoy and shore-based measurements. Long-term coastal temperature trends are warming in the Gulf of Maine [1.0° ± 0.3°C (100 yr)⁻¹] and Middle Atlantic Bight [0.7° ± 0.3°C (100 yr)⁻¹], whereas trends are weakly cooling or not significant in the South Atlantic Bight [−0.1° ± 0.3°C (100 yr)⁻¹] and off Florida [−0.3° ± 0.2°C (100 yr)⁻¹]. Over the last century, temperatures along the northeastern U.S. coast have warmed at a rate 1.8–2.5 times the regional atmospheric temperature trend but are comparable to warming rates for the Arctic and Labrador, the source of coastal ocean waters north of Cape Hatteras (36°N). South of Cape Hatteras, coastal ocean temperature trends match the regional atmospheric temperature trend. The observations and a simple model show that along-shelf transport, associated with the mean coastal current system running from Labrador to Cape Hatteras, is the mechanism controlling long-term temperature changes for this region and not the local air–sea exchange of heat. Close

• 2. [Article] Do walleye pollock exhibit flexibility in where or when they spawn based on variability in water temperature?

  This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/deep-sea-research-part-ii-topical-studies-in-oceanography/. To ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Do walleye pollock exhibit flexibility in where or when they spawn based on variability in water temperature? Author: Bacheler, Nathan M., Ciannelli, Lorenzo, Bailey, Kevin Mclean, Bartolino, Valerio This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/deep-sea-research-part-ii-topical-studies-in-oceanography/. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. Title: Do walleye pollock exhibit flexibility in where or when they spawn based on variability in water temperature? Author: Bacheler, Nathan M., Ciannelli, Lorenzo, Bailey, Kevin Mclean, Bartolino, Valerio This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/deep-sea-research-part-ii-topical-studies-in-oceanography/. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. Close

• 3. [Article] Seasonality of U[superscript K’]₃₇ temperature estimates as inferred from sediment trap data

  This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/quaternary-scien...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Seasonality of U[superscript K’]₃₇ temperature estimates as inferred from sediment trap data Author: Prahl, Fredrick G., Rosell-Mele, Antoni This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/quaternary-science-reviews/. Title: Seasonality of U[superscript K’]₃₇ temperature estimates as inferred from sediment trap data Author: Prahl, Fredrick G., Rosell-Mele, Antoni This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/quaternary-science-reviews/. Close

• 4. [Article] Covariability of Surface Wind and Stress Responses to Sea Surface Temperature Fronts

  This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the American Meteorological Society and can be found at: http://www.ametsoc.org/pubs/journals/jcli/.

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Covariability of Surface Wind and Stress Responses to Sea Surface Temperature Fronts Author: Chelton, Dudley B., Esbensen, Steven K., O'Neill, Larry W. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the American Meteorological Society and can be found at: http://www.ametsoc.org/pubs/journals/jcli/. Title: Covariability of Surface Wind and Stress Responses to Sea Surface Temperature Fronts Author: Chelton, Dudley B., Esbensen, Steven K., O'Neill, Larry W. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the American Meteorological Society and can be found at: http://www.ametsoc.org/pubs/journals/jcli/. Close

• 5. [Article] Coupling between Sea Surface Temperature and Low-Level Winds in Mesoscale Numerical Models

  This study evaluates the impacts of sea surface temperature (SST) specification and grid resolution on numerical simulations of air–sea coupling near oceanic fronts through analyses of surface winds from ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Coupling between Sea Surface Temperature and Low-Level Winds in Mesoscale Numerical Models Author: Chelton, Dudley B., Thum, Nicolai, Esbensen, Steven K., O’Neill, Larry W., Song, Qingtao This study evaluates the impacts of sea surface temperature (SST) specification and grid resolution on numerical simulations of air–sea coupling near oceanic fronts through analyses of surface winds from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model. The 9 May 2001 change of the boundary condition from the Reynolds SST analyses to the NOAA Real-Time Global (RTG) SST in the ECMWF model resulted in an abrupt increase in mesoscale variance of the model surface winds over the ocean. In contrast, the 21 November 2000 change of the grid resolution resulted in an abrupt increase in mesoscale variability of surface winds over mountainous regions on land but had no significant effect on winds over the ocean. To further investigate model sensitivity to the SST boundary condition and grid resolution, a series of simulations were made with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model over a domain encompassing the Agulhas return current (ARC: also called “retroflection”) region in the south Indian Ocean. Results from three WRF simulations with SST measured by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer on the Earth Observing System Aqua satellite (AMSR-E) and the Reynolds and RTG SST analyses indicate the vital importance of the resolution of the SST boundary condition for accurate simulation of the air–sea coupling between SST and surface wind speed. WRF simulations with grid spacings of 40 and 25 km show that the latter increased energy only on scales shorter than 250 km. In contrast, improved resolution of SST significantly increased the mesoscale variability for scales up to 1000 km. Further sensitivity studies with the WRF model conclude that the weak coupling of surface wind speeds from the ECMWF model to SST is likely attributable primarily to the weak response of vertical turbulent mixing to SST-induced stability in the parameterization of boundary layer turbulence, with an overestimation of vertical diffusion by about 60% on average in stable conditions and an underestimation by about 40% in unstable conditions Title: Coupling between Sea Surface Temperature and Low-Level Winds in Mesoscale Numerical Models Author: Chelton, Dudley B., Thum, Nicolai, Esbensen, Steven K., O’Neill, Larry W., Song, Qingtao This study evaluates the impacts of sea surface temperature (SST) specification and grid resolution on numerical simulations of air–sea coupling near oceanic fronts through analyses of surface winds from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model. The 9 May 2001 change of the boundary condition from the Reynolds SST analyses to the NOAA Real-Time Global (RTG) SST in the ECMWF model resulted in an abrupt increase in mesoscale variance of the model surface winds over the ocean. In contrast, the 21 November 2000 change of the grid resolution resulted in an abrupt increase in mesoscale variability of surface winds over mountainous regions on land but had no significant effect on winds over the ocean. To further investigate model sensitivity to the SST boundary condition and grid resolution, a series of simulations were made with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model over a domain encompassing the Agulhas return current (ARC: also called “retroflection”) region in the south Indian Ocean. Results from three WRF simulations with SST measured by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer on the Earth Observing System Aqua satellite (AMSR-E) and the Reynolds and RTG SST analyses indicate the vital importance of the resolution of the SST boundary condition for accurate simulation of the air–sea coupling between SST and surface wind speed. WRF simulations with grid spacings of 40 and 25 km show that the latter increased energy only on scales shorter than 250 km. In contrast, improved resolution of SST significantly increased the mesoscale variability for scales up to 1000 km. Further sensitivity studies with the WRF model conclude that the weak coupling of surface wind speeds from the ECMWF model to SST is likely attributable primarily to the weak response of vertical turbulent mixing to SST-induced stability in the parameterization of boundary layer turbulence, with an overestimation of vertical diffusion by about 60% on average in stable conditions and an underestimation by about 40% in unstable conditions Close

• 6. [Article] Subseasonal SST Variability in the Tropical Eastern North Pacific during Boreal Summer

  Boreal summer intraseasonal (30–90-day time scale) sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the east Pacific warm pool is examined using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Subseasonal SST Variability in the Tropical Eastern North Pacific during Boreal Summer Author: Chelton, Dudley B., Esbensen, Steven K., Maloney, Eric D. Boreal summer intraseasonal (30–90-day time scale) sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the east Pacific warm pool is examined using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) sea surface temperatures during 1998–2005. Intraseasonal SST variance maximizes at two locations in the warm pool: in the vicinity of 9°N, 92°W near the Costa Rica Dome and near the northern edge of the warm pool in the vicinity of 19°N, 108°W. Both locations exhibit a significant spectral peak at 50–60-day periods, time scales characteristic of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). Complex empirical orthogonal function (CEOF) and spectra coherence analyses are used to show that boreal summer intraseasonal SST anomalies are coherent with precipitation anomalies across the east Pacific warm pool. Spatial variations of phase are modest across the warm pool, although evidence exists for the northward progression of intraseasonal SST and precipitation anomalies. Intraseasonal SSTs at the north edge of the warm pool lag those in the vicinity of the Costa Rica Dome by about 1 week. The MJO explains 30%–40% of the variance of intraseasonal SST anomalies in the east Pacific warm pool during boreal summer. Peak-to-peak SST variations of 0.8°–1.0°C occur during MJO events. SST is approximately in quadrature with MJO precipitation, with suppressed (enhanced) MJO precipitation anomalies leading positive (negative) SST anomalies by 7–10 days. Consistent with the CEOF and coherence analyses, MJO-related SST and precipitation anomalies near the Costa Rica Dome lead those at the northern edge of the warm pool by about 1 week. Title: Subseasonal SST Variability in the Tropical Eastern North Pacific during Boreal Summer Author: Chelton, Dudley B., Esbensen, Steven K., Maloney, Eric D. Boreal summer intraseasonal (30–90-day time scale) sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the east Pacific warm pool is examined using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) sea surface temperatures during 1998–2005. Intraseasonal SST variance maximizes at two locations in the warm pool: in the vicinity of 9°N, 92°W near the Costa Rica Dome and near the northern edge of the warm pool in the vicinity of 19°N, 108°W. Both locations exhibit a significant spectral peak at 50–60-day periods, time scales characteristic of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). Complex empirical orthogonal function (CEOF) and spectra coherence analyses are used to show that boreal summer intraseasonal SST anomalies are coherent with precipitation anomalies across the east Pacific warm pool. Spatial variations of phase are modest across the warm pool, although evidence exists for the northward progression of intraseasonal SST and precipitation anomalies. Intraseasonal SSTs at the north edge of the warm pool lag those in the vicinity of the Costa Rica Dome by about 1 week. The MJO explains 30%–40% of the variance of intraseasonal SST anomalies in the east Pacific warm pool during boreal summer. Peak-to-peak SST variations of 0.8°–1.0°C occur during MJO events. SST is approximately in quadrature with MJO precipitation, with suppressed (enhanced) MJO precipitation anomalies leading positive (negative) SST anomalies by 7–10 days. Consistent with the CEOF and coherence analyses, MJO-related SST and precipitation anomalies near the Costa Rica Dome lead those at the northern edge of the warm pool by about 1 week. Close

• 7. [Article] Frontal Scale Air–Sea Interaction in High-Resolution Coupled Climate Models

  The emerging picture of frontal scale air–sea interaction derived from high-resolution satellite observations of surface winds and sea surface temperature (SST) provides a unique opportunity to test the ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Frontal Scale Air–Sea Interaction in High-Resolution Coupled Climate Models Author: Chelton, Dudley B., McClean, Julie L., Loeb, Norman G., Dennis, John M., Bryan, Frank O., Tomas, Robert The emerging picture of frontal scale air–sea interaction derived from high-resolution satellite observations of surface winds and sea surface temperature (SST) provides a unique opportunity to test the fidelity of high-resolution coupled climate simulations. Initial analysis of the output of a suite of Community Climate System Model (CCSM) experiments indicates that characteristics of frontal scale ocean–atmosphere interaction, such as the positive correlation between SST and surface wind stress, are realistically captured only when the ocean component is eddy resolving. The strength of the coupling between SST and surface stress is weaker than observed, however, as has been found previously for numerical weather prediction models and other coupled climate models. The results are similar when the atmospheric component model grid resolution is doubled from 0.5° to 0.25°, an indication that shortcomings in the representation of subgrid scale atmospheric planetary boundary layer processes, rather than resolved scale processes, are responsible for the weakness of the coupling. In the coupled model solutions the response to mesoscale SST features is strongest in the atmospheric boundary layer, but there is a deeper reaching response of the atmospheric circulation apparent in free tropospheric clouds. This simulated response is shown to be consistent with satellite estimates of the relationship between mesoscale SST and all-sky albedo. Title: Frontal Scale Air–Sea Interaction in High-Resolution Coupled Climate Models Author: Chelton, Dudley B., McClean, Julie L., Loeb, Norman G., Dennis, John M., Bryan, Frank O., Tomas, Robert The emerging picture of frontal scale air–sea interaction derived from high-resolution satellite observations of surface winds and sea surface temperature (SST) provides a unique opportunity to test the fidelity of high-resolution coupled climate simulations. Initial analysis of the output of a suite of Community Climate System Model (CCSM) experiments indicates that characteristics of frontal scale ocean–atmosphere interaction, such as the positive correlation between SST and surface wind stress, are realistically captured only when the ocean component is eddy resolving. The strength of the coupling between SST and surface stress is weaker than observed, however, as has been found previously for numerical weather prediction models and other coupled climate models. The results are similar when the atmospheric component model grid resolution is doubled from 0.5° to 0.25°, an indication that shortcomings in the representation of subgrid scale atmospheric planetary boundary layer processes, rather than resolved scale processes, are responsible for the weakness of the coupling. In the coupled model solutions the response to mesoscale SST features is strongest in the atmospheric boundary layer, but there is a deeper reaching response of the atmospheric circulation apparent in free tropospheric clouds. This simulated response is shown to be consistent with satellite estimates of the relationship between mesoscale SST and all-sky albedo. Close

• 8. [Article] The Effects of SST-Induced Surface Wind Speed and Direction Gradients on Midlatitude Surface Vorticity and Divergence

  The effects of surface wind speed and direction gradients on midlatitude surface vorticity and divergence fields associated with mesoscale sea surface temperature (SST) variability having spatial scales ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Effects of SST-Induced Surface Wind Speed and Direction Gradients on Midlatitude Surface Vorticity and Divergence Author: Chelton, Dudley B., Esbensen, Steven K., O’Neill, Larry W. The effects of surface wind speed and direction gradients on midlatitude surface vorticity and divergence fields associated with mesoscale sea surface temperature (SST) variability having spatial scales of 100–1000 km are investigated using vector wind observations from the SeaWinds scatterometer on the Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) satellite and SST from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) Aqua satellite. The wind–SST coupling is analyzed over the period June 2002–August 2008, corresponding to the first 6+ years of the AMSR-E mission. Previous studies have shown that strong wind speed gradients develop in response to persistent mesoscale SST features associated with the Kuroshio Extension, Gulf Stream, South Atlantic, and Agulhas Return Current regions. Midlatitude SST fronts also significantly modify surface wind direction; the surface wind speed and direction responses to typical SST differences of about 2°–4°C are, on average, about 1–2 m s⁻¹ and 4°–8°, respectively, over all four regions. Wind speed perturbations are positively correlated and very nearly collocated spatially with the SST perturbations. Wind direction perturbations, however, are displaced meridionally from the SST perturbations, with cyclonic flow poleward of warm SST and anticyclonic flow poleward of cool SST. Previous observational analyses have shown that small-scale perturbations in the surface vorticity and divergence fields are related linearly to the crosswind and downwind components of the SST gradient, respectively. When the vorticity and divergence fields are analyzed in curvilinear natural coordinates, the wind speed contributions to the SST-induced vorticity and divergence depend equally on the crosswind and downwind SST gradients, respectively. SST-induced wind direction gradients also significantly modify the vorticity and divergence fields, weakening the vorticity response to crosswind SST gradients while enhancing the divergence response to downwind SST gradients. Title: The Effects of SST-Induced Surface Wind Speed and Direction Gradients on Midlatitude Surface Vorticity and Divergence Author: Chelton, Dudley B., Esbensen, Steven K., O’Neill, Larry W. The effects of surface wind speed and direction gradients on midlatitude surface vorticity and divergence fields associated with mesoscale sea surface temperature (SST) variability having spatial scales of 100–1000 km are investigated using vector wind observations from the SeaWinds scatterometer on the Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) satellite and SST from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) Aqua satellite. The wind–SST coupling is analyzed over the period June 2002–August 2008, corresponding to the first 6+ years of the AMSR-E mission. Previous studies have shown that strong wind speed gradients develop in response to persistent mesoscale SST features associated with the Kuroshio Extension, Gulf Stream, South Atlantic, and Agulhas Return Current regions. Midlatitude SST fronts also significantly modify surface wind direction; the surface wind speed and direction responses to typical SST differences of about 2°–4°C are, on average, about 1–2 m s⁻¹ and 4°–8°, respectively, over all four regions. Wind speed perturbations are positively correlated and very nearly collocated spatially with the SST perturbations. Wind direction perturbations, however, are displaced meridionally from the SST perturbations, with cyclonic flow poleward of warm SST and anticyclonic flow poleward of cool SST. Previous observational analyses have shown that small-scale perturbations in the surface vorticity and divergence fields are related linearly to the crosswind and downwind components of the SST gradient, respectively. When the vorticity and divergence fields are analyzed in curvilinear natural coordinates, the wind speed contributions to the SST-induced vorticity and divergence depend equally on the crosswind and downwind SST gradients, respectively. SST-induced wind direction gradients also significantly modify the vorticity and divergence fields, weakening the vorticity response to crosswind SST gradients while enhancing the divergence response to downwind SST gradients. Close

• 9. [Article] Wind Speed and Stability Effects on Coupling between Surface Wind Stress and SST Observed from Buoys and Satellite

  This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by American Meteorological Society and can be found at: http://journals.ametsoc.org/loi/clim.

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Wind Speed and Stability Effects on Coupling between Surface Wind Stress and SST Observed from Buoys and Satellite Author: O'Neill, Larry W. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by American Meteorological Society and can be found at: http://journals.ametsoc.org/loi/clim. Title: Wind Speed and Stability Effects on Coupling between Surface Wind Stress and SST Observed from Buoys and Satellite Author: O'Neill, Larry W. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by American Meteorological Society and can be found at: http://journals.ametsoc.org/loi/clim. Close

• 10. [Article] Comparisons of Daily Sea Surface Temperature Analyses for 2007–08

  Six different SST analyses are compared with each other and with buoy data for the period 2007–08. All analyses used different combinations of satellite data [for example, infrared Advanced Very High Resolution ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Comparisons of Daily Sea Surface Temperature Analyses for 2007–08 Author: Chelton, Dudley B., Reynolds, Richard W. Six different SST analyses are compared with each other and with buoy data for the period 2007–08. All analyses used different combinations of satellite data [for example, infrared Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and microwave Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) instruments] with different algorithms, spatial resolution, etc. The analyses considered are the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) AVHRR-only and AMSR+AVHRR, the Navy Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation (NCODA), the Remote Sensing Systems (RSS), the Real-Time Global High-Resolution (RTG-HR), and the Operational SST and Sea Ice Analysis (OSTIA); the spatial grid sizes were 1/4°, 1/4°, 1/9°, 1/11°, 1/12°, and 1/20°, respectively. In addition, all analyses except RSS used in situ data. Most analysis procedures and weighting functions differed. Thus, differences among analyses could be large in high-gradient and data-sparse regions. An example off the coast of South Carolina showed winter SST differences that exceeded 5°C. To help quantify SST analysis differences, wavenumber spectra were computed at several locations. These results suggested that the RSS is much noisier and that the RTG-HR analysis is much smoother than the other analyses. Further comparisons made using collocated buoys showed that RSS was especially noisy in the tropics and that RTG-HR had winter biases near the Aleutians region during January and February 2007. The correlation results show that NCODA and, to a somewhat lesser extent, OSTIA are strongly tuned locally to buoy data. The results also show that grid spacing does not always correlate with analysis resolution. The AVHRR-only analysis is useful for climate studies because it is the only daily SST analysis that extends back to September 1981. Furthermore, comparisons of the AVHRR-only analysis and the AMSR+AVHRR analysis show that AMSR data can degrade the combined AMSR and AVHRR resolution in cloud-free regions while AMSR otherwise improves the resolution. These results indicate that changes in satellite instruments over time can impact SST analysis resolution. Title: Comparisons of Daily Sea Surface Temperature Analyses for 2007–08 Author: Chelton, Dudley B., Reynolds, Richard W. Six different SST analyses are compared with each other and with buoy data for the period 2007–08. All analyses used different combinations of satellite data [for example, infrared Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and microwave Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) instruments] with different algorithms, spatial resolution, etc. The analyses considered are the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) AVHRR-only and AMSR+AVHRR, the Navy Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation (NCODA), the Remote Sensing Systems (RSS), the Real-Time Global High-Resolution (RTG-HR), and the Operational SST and Sea Ice Analysis (OSTIA); the spatial grid sizes were 1/4°, 1/4°, 1/9°, 1/11°, 1/12°, and 1/20°, respectively. In addition, all analyses except RSS used in situ data. Most analysis procedures and weighting functions differed. Thus, differences among analyses could be large in high-gradient and data-sparse regions. An example off the coast of South Carolina showed winter SST differences that exceeded 5°C. To help quantify SST analysis differences, wavenumber spectra were computed at several locations. These results suggested that the RSS is much noisier and that the RTG-HR analysis is much smoother than the other analyses. Further comparisons made using collocated buoys showed that RSS was especially noisy in the tropics and that RTG-HR had winter biases near the Aleutians region during January and February 2007. The correlation results show that NCODA and, to a somewhat lesser extent, OSTIA are strongly tuned locally to buoy data. The results also show that grid spacing does not always correlate with analysis resolution. The AVHRR-only analysis is useful for climate studies because it is the only daily SST analysis that extends back to September 1981. Furthermore, comparisons of the AVHRR-only analysis and the AMSR+AVHRR analysis show that AMSR data can degrade the combined AMSR and AVHRR resolution in cloud-free regions while AMSR otherwise improves the resolution. These results indicate that changes in satellite instruments over time can impact SST analysis resolution. Close