Glossary
The English version of our glossary is currently under construction and will be regularly updated.
Sea surface temperature
The sea surface temperature is the mean temperature in the near-surface metres of the ocean.
The sea surface temperature is the mean temperature in the near-surface metres of the ocean and is measured using ships, buoys and fishing trawlers. In the 1940s, shipboard readings largely changed from water samples using buckets to samples taken from the engine-cooling water intakes. Satellite measurements of the “skin temperature” (the uppermost layer, measuring a fraction of a millimetre) in the infrared regime or of roughly the top centimetre in the microwave regime are also used, but must be adjusted in order to be comparable with the mean temperature.