Validation of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) sea surface temperature in the Southern Ocean

[1] Satellite sea surface temperature (SST) measurements from Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) are compared with in situ temperature observations from high-resolution expendable bathythermograph and hull-mounted thermosalinograph data along two sections ( south of Australia and Drake Passage) in the Southern Ocean. To eliminate the effects of diurnal warming and low wind speed, we use only AMSR-E data collected within 5 hours of the in situ observations, with wind speeds exceeding 6 m s(-1). The AMSR-E measurements are warmer than in situ observations during summer and are colder than in situ observations during winter. Factors that may cause the temperature difference are examined, including wind speed, columnar water vapor, columnar cloud water, geographic location, local temperature, and time of observation. Of these, wind speed and columnar water vapor are found to be the major factors contributing to the temperature difference between AMSR-E SST and in situ SST observations. The temperature difference decreases with increasing wind speed and water vapor. AMSR-E and in situ SST observations are also compared with simultaneous Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ( MODIS) SST and weekly Reynolds Optimum Interpolated (OI) SST. Results suggest that the OI SSTs have a warm bias for both summer and winter; MODIS SSTs indicate a cold bias. In contrast, AMSR-E SSTs show little bias relative to expendable bathythermographs.