Simultaneous observations of sea surface temperature in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean by bulk, radiative and satellite methods

The increasing reliance on satellite observations for mapping and following changes in sea surface temperature (SST) has renewed interest in the measurement of the skin temperature of the ocean surface. In this experiment, skin surface temperature was measured with a narrow‐band radiometer over a 13‐day period in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean and compared with bulk sea temperatures and satellite‐derived estimates. A cool skin was found to be a quasi‐permanent feature in this region; its temperature averaged 0.3°C less than the bulk sea temperature. Conventional models for the cool skin were found to give a reasonable fit down to wind speeds of 1 m s −1 . Satellite measurements showed some deviations from the true SST values, a result not unexpected, considering the substantial corrections required as a result of the high atmospheric water vapor content in these latitudes.