Sea surface temperature monitor and predict the El Niño phenomenon. Weather satellites have been available to determine sea surface temperature information since 1967, with the first global composites created during 1970. Since 1982, satellites have been increasingly utilized to measure SST and have allowed its spatial and temporal variation to be viewed more fully. Satellite measurements of SST are in reasonable agreement with in situ temperature measurements. The satellite measurement is made by sensing the ocean radiation in two or more wavelengths within the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum or other parts of the spectrum which can then be empirically related to
Ocean observations Ocean observations The following are considered essential ocean climate variables by the Ocean Observations Panel for Climate (OOPC) that are currently feasible with current observational systems . Air Temperature Precipitation (meteorology) evaporation Air Pressure, sea level pressure (SLP) Surface radiative fluxes Surface thermodynamic fluxes Wind speed and direction Surface wind stress Water vapor Sea surface temperature (SST) Sea surface salinity (SSS) Sea level Sea state Sea ice Ocean current Ocean color (for biological activity) Carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2) There is a composite network of satellites that generate observations. These include: There is a composite network of in situ observations.