Earth  ID: 3532

Current Sea Surface Temperatures Rising in the Gulf of Mexico

Visualizations by Trent L. Schindler Released on September 11, 2008
Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico rise due to natural summer warming. These warm surface temperatures are a contributing factor to favorable conditions that can lead to the formation of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and off the East Coast of the United States. In general, hurricanes tend to form over warm ocean water whose temperature is 82 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 27.7 degrees Celsius) or higher. These areas are depicted in yellow, orange, and red. This blended microwave- and infrared-wavelength data was taken by the AMSR-E and MODIS instruments aboard the Aqua satellite, and the TMI instrument aboard the TRMM satellite. This animation updates every 24 hours.
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This animation shows the progression of warm waters slowly filling the Gulf of Mexico (shown in yellow, orange, and red). This natural annual warming contributes to the possible formation of hurricanes in the Gulf. SST data shown here ranges from January 1 to the present.
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The legend for sea surface temperature. The color scale ranges from dark blue for areas below 15C to dark red for regions above 35C.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2008-01-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2008-02-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2008-03-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2008-04-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2008-05-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2008-06-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2008-07-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2008-08-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2008-09-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2008-10-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2008-11-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2008-12-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2009-01-02.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2009-02-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2009-03-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2009-04-02.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2009-05-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2009-06-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2009-07-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2009-08-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2009-09-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2009-10-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2009-11-01.
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High definition version of sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on 2009-12-01.

Visualization Credits

Trent L. Schindler (UMBC): Lead Animator
Alex Kekesi (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Animator
Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC): Animator
David Adamec (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Jeff Halverson (JCET UMBC): Scientist
Scott Braun (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Owen Kelley (George Mason University): Scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3532

Mission:
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission - TRMM

Data Used:
Aqua/MODIS
01/01/2008 - 12/31/2009
view all stories where this data set is used
TRMM/TMI
01/01/2008 - 12/31/2009
view all stories where this data set is used
Aqua/AMSR-E/Sea Surface Temperature
01/01/2008 - 12/31/2009
view all stories where this data set is used
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.

This item is part of these series:
Hurricane-SST Connection
Updates Regularly

Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
DLESE >> Physical oceanography
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Oceans >> Ocean Temperature >> Sea Surface Temperature
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0