SURFACE TEMPERATURE OF THE GLOBAL OCEANS

由于对气候变化的担忧，我们需要更准确地知道地球表面温度是如何变化的。由于地球的大部分被水覆盖，海洋温度是全球温度的一个主要组成部分。但海洋的广大区域很少有船只或浮标到访，测量也很少，因此，通过太空卫星上的红外传感器估算海洋表面温度（SST）对于获得全球图景至关重要。然而，卫星海温容易出现误差（偏差），这意味着它们不够稳定，无法用于研究年代际温度趋势。自1991年以来，一系列传感器（沿迹扫描辐射计，简称“atsr”）已经在欧洲卫星上飞行。这些传感器经过了更仔细的校准，比任何类似的仪器都更稳定。近年来，仔细的研究表明，如何从atsr中获得海温，我们可以确信在全球范围内的偏差小于十分之一度。值得注意的是，这是通过对基于辐射物理及其与物质相互作用的ATSR观测进行计算机模拟来完成的。这是有用的，因为它使人们相信ATSR海温估计在全球范围内是有效的，即使在很少有直接测量可用于检查它们的区域也是如此；这与其他并非独立于直接测量的卫星海温形成对比。在这个项目中，atsr的观测结果将使用最先进的新技术进行重新处理，旨在最大限度地减少误差，并在误差仍然存在的情况下彻底理解这些误差。我们期望最终获得的海温足够稳定、准确和独立，可以用于气候研究。我们创造的新海温记录将显著改善我们对数据稀疏海域变化的评估；在那些通过航运等方式测量温度的地区，新的卫星海温甚至可以让我们深入了解这些直接测量的误差。我们将创建一个新的综合所有海温观测，包括新的卫星海温。这将被哈德利中心用来修正近几十年来全球气候变化模式和速度的最佳估计，并更好地将观测到的气候变化归因于其原因。这些结果在各种情况下都很有用。它将允许政府在更好的气候变化信息的基础上制定政策，并将纳入政府间关于气候变化科学的评估。海洋表面温度对英国皇家海军在世界任何地方的作战计划都很有用。科学家们将使用SSTs来研究大气和海洋之间的热量和气体传递。海洋预报中心利用船只等测量的海温，使其海洋模型与实际情况保持一致，因此，更好地了解这项计划输入的误差，对海洋预报也有好处。

We need to know more accurately how the surface temperature of Earth is changing, because of concerns about climate change. Since most of Earth is covered in water, ocean temperatures are a major component of global temperatures. But vast areas of ocean are rarely visited by shipping or buoys and are sparsely measured, so estimates of sea surface temperature (SST) from infrared sensors on satellites in space are essential to getting a global picture. Satellite SSTs, however, are prone to errors (biases) that mean they have not been stable enough to use to study decadal temperature trends. Since 1991, a series of sensors (the Along Track Scanning Radiometers, or 'ATSRs') have been flown on European satellites. These sensors have been more carefully calibrated and are more stable than any similar instruments. Over recent years, careful research has shown how to obtain SSTs from the ATSRs that we can be confident have biases less than about one tenth of a degree globally. Remarkably, this has been done by performing computer simulations of ATSR observations based on the physics of radiation and how it interacts with matter. This is useful, because it gives confidence that the ATSR SST estimates are valid globally, even in regions where there are few direct measurements available to check them against; this is in contrast to other satellite SSTs that are not independent of direct measurements. In this project, the observations from the ATSRs will be re-worked using new state-of-the-art techniques, which are aimed at minimizing errors, and, where errors remain, understanding those errors thoroughly. We expect the SSTs we finally obtain to be sufficiently stable, accurate and independent to be used for climate research. The new SST record we create will significantly improve our assessment of changes in data-sparse seas; and in regions where temperatures are measured by shipping, etc, the new satellite SSTs may even be able to give us insight into the errors in these direct measurements. We will create a new synthesis of all SST observations, including the new satellite SSTs. This will be used at the Hadley Centre to revise the best estimates of the global pattern and rate of climate change over recent decades, and to better attribute observed climate change to its causes. These results will be useful in various contexts. It will allow government policy to be formulated on the basis of better information about climate change, and will feed into intergovernmental assessments about climate change science. Marine surface temperatures are useful to the Royal Navy for planning operations, which can be anywhere in the world. The SSTs will be used by scientists looking at the transfer of heat and gases between the atmosphere and ocean. Ocean forecasting centres use measurements of SST by ships, etc, to keep their ocean model on track with reality, so better understanding of the errors in these inputs from this project will benefit ocean forecasting too.