Abstract:Based on the SST data from four satellite infrared radiometers (MODIS-Aqua, MODIS-Terra, VIIRS, AVHRR) and three microwave radiometers (GMI, WindSat, AMSR2) in 2018, the global ocean spatiotemporal coverage of these spaceborne radiometer SST data was analyzed, followed by the comparison between satellite-derived (microwave and infrared) SST and Argo in situ measured ones. The results show that, the higher SST spatio-temporal coverage is achieved by VIIRS compared to MODIS-Aqua, MODIS-Terra and AVHRR. For the microwave radiometer observation, AMSR2 has the higher spatiotemporal coverage than GMI and WindSat. The average SST deviation between the four infrared radiometers and the Argo buoy measurement is between -0.27-0 °C, and the root mean square error (RMSE) is less than 0.76 °C; VIIRS SST exhibits the best quality. The average deviation between the three microwave radiometers and the Argo measurement ranges from -0.04 °C to 0.22 °C, and the RMSE is less than 0.88 °C. The absolute deviation, standard deviation and RMSE of AMSR2 SST are lower than those of the other two microwave radiometers. The average (standard) deviation of AMSR2 and VIIRS SST with respect to the Argo measurement is less than 0.15 °C (0.52 °C) and -0.20 °C (0.60 °C), respectively. High consistency between AMSR2 and VIIRS SST is found, indicated by the average deviation ranging from -0.23 °C to -0.10 °C and the standard deviation of less than 0.41 °C.