IMPROVING THE AVHRR ESTIMATES OF THE ADRIATIC SEA SURFACE

Sea surface temperature (SST) is an important parameter in oceanography and meteorology due to its major influence on the exchange processes at the air-sea interface. Ever-increasing complexity and resolution of global and local, oceanographic, meteorological and coupled models further stress the need for accurate estimates of this parameter. Satellite measurements offer synoptic view and repetitive coverage of vast areas, but globally derived SST algorithms potentially conceal large regional differences. Regional performance assessment of SST algorithms is therefore an important task. Two matchup databases of satellite and in situ SST were compiled at two locations, Rudjer Boskovic Institute (IRB) and Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisca Sperimentale (OGS) with a view to validate the Adriatic Sea SST derive