A method of eliminating cloud interference in satellite studies of sea surface temperatures

Abstract Five days of Nimbus II HRIR (High Resolution Infrared Radiometer) data 11–15 November 1966, were examined individually and then combined in a selective composite designed to arrive at sea surface temperatures in a region of transitory clouds. The region of study—20° to 32° N and 105° to 114° W—included the Gulf of California and a small portion of the eastern Pacific An examination of the individual charts showed a small migration of warm water northward into the Gulf during the five-day period. The variation was small however, and the five-day HDA (High Daily Average) composite may be taken as representing the sea surface temperature conditions of the region with the transitory clouds removed.