Impact of Mount Pinatubo Aerosols on Satellite-derived Sea Surface Temperatures

Abstract

The June 1991 eruptions of Mount Pinatubo produced new stratospheric aerosols that were greater than the aerosols from the 1982 eruptions of El Chichón. These new aerosols strongly affected the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) retrievals of sea surface temperature in the tropics where negative biases occurred with magnitudes greater than 1°C. The time dependence of these biases are shown. In addition, a method to correct these biases is discussed and integrated into the National Meteorological Center's optimum interpolation sea surface temperature analysis.