Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Moderate-Resolution Sea Surface Temperature Data and 

Seasonal Pattern Analysis for the Arctic Ocean Ecoregions

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Open-File Report 2011–1246
Moderate-Resolution Sea Surface Temperature Data and 

Seasonal Pattern Analysis for the Arctic Ocean Ecoregions

By Meredith C. Payne and Deborah A. Reusser, U.S. Geological Survey; and Henry Lee II, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency 

Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Open-File Report 2011–1246

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

KEN SALAZAR, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Marcia K. McNutt, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2012

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Suggested citation:

Payne, M.C., Reusser, D.A., and Lee, Henry, II, 2012, Moderate-resolution sea surface temperature data and 

seasonal pattern analysis for the Arctic Ocean ecoregions: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011-1246, 

20 p., available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1246/.

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copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report.
iii

Contents

Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................................... 1

Data Description and Processing................................................................................................................................... 3

AVHRR SST Data...................................................................................................................................................... 3

AVHRR Data Quality.................................................................................................................................................. 3

Data Accuracy........................................................................................................................................................ 4

Arctic SST Product..................................................................................................................................................... 5

Data Processing ............................................................................................................................................................ 7

Temperature Pattern Analysis ....................................................................................................................................... 7

MEOW Framework .................................................................................................................................................... 7

Study Area ................................................................................................................................................................. 7

Arctic Annual Cycles .................................................................................................................................................. 8

Clustering Analysis ...................................................................................................................................................12

Downloads....................................................................................................................................................................13

Data Catalog.............................................................................................................................................................13

Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................................18

References Cited..........................................................................................................................................................18

Figures

Figure 1. Map of Arctic realm as defined by the Marine Ecoregions of the World..................................................... 2

Figure 2. Map of monthly average SSTs in the Arctic Ocean ecoregions for September 2009................................. 6

Figure 3. Legend diagram for figure 4..................................................................................................................... 10

Figure 4. Arctic Ocean ecoregion plots of annual cycles of mean monthly SSTs. .................................................. 11

Figure 5. Euclidean distance cluster diagram for Arctic Ocean ecoregions based on 29-year mean, minimum, 

maximum, annual range and annual variance of SST ................................................................................................. 13

Tables

Table 1. R-squared values from simple linear regression statistics between data with quality flag 

values of 4-7 (BSST) and data with quality flag value of 7 only (Q7SST) for each Arctic ecoregion.............................. 4

Table 2. SST metrics used in analyses presented in this study............................................................................... 8

Table 3. Statistical metrics for Arctic and High Arctic ecoregions ............................................................................ 9

 
iv

Conversion Factors and Datum

SI to Inch/Pound

Multiply By To obtain

Length

meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft) 

meter (m) 1.094 yard (yd) 

kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile (mi)

Area

square kilometer (km2) 0.3861 square mile (mi2)

Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows:

°F=(1.8×°C)+32. 

Datum

Horizontal and vertical coordinate information is referenced to the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 84). 

Acronyms and Abbreviations 

ArcGIS ESRI's GIS software

AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer 

ESRI Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.

GIS Geographical Information System

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 

IR Infrared

JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

MEOW Marine Ecoregions of the World 

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NCEP National Centers for Environmental Prediction

NIS Nonindigenous species 

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NODC National Oceanographic Data Center

NSIDC National Snow and Ice Data Center 

PFSST V5x Pathfinder Sea Surface Temperature version 5.x

POES Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite

PO.DAAC Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center

SST Sea surface temperature

WGS 84 World Geodetic System, 1984 
1

Moderate-Resolution Sea Surface Temperature 

Data and Seasonal Pattern Analysis for the 

Arctic Ocean Ecoregions

By Meredith C. Payne and Deborah A. Reusser, U.S. Geological Survey; and Henry Lee II, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency

Abstract 

Sea surface temperature (SST) is an important environmental characteristic in determining the 

suitability and sustainability of habitats for marine organisms. In particular, the fate of the Arctic Ocean, 

which provides critical habitat to commercially important fish, is in question. This poses an intriguing 

problem for future research of Arctic environments—one that will require examination of long-term 

SST records. This publication describes and provides access to an easy-to-use Arctic SST dataset for 

ecologists, biogeographers, oceanographers, and other scientists conducting research on habitats and/or 

processes in the Arctic Ocean. The data cover the Arctic ecoregions as defined by the "Marine 

Ecoregions of the World" (MEOW) biogeographic schema developed by The Nature Conservancy as 

well as the region to the north from approximately 46 °N to about 88 °N (constrained by the season and 

data coverage). The data span a 29-year period from September 1981 to December 2009. These SST 

data were derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument 

measurements that had been compiled into monthly means at 4-kilometer grid cell spatial resolution. 

The processed data files are available in ArcGIS geospatial datasets (raster and point shapefiles) and 

also are provided in text (.csv) format. All data except the raster files include attributes identifying 

latitude/longitude coordinates, and realm, province, and ecoregion as defined by the MEOW 

classification schema. A seasonal analysis of these Arctic ecoregions reveals a wide range of SSTs 

experienced throughout the Arctic, both over the course of an annual cycle and within each month of 

that cycle. Sea ice distribution plays a major role in SST regulation in all Arctic ecoregions. 

Introduction

Recent research indicates there has been a warming trend in ocean temperatures over the last 50 

years (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007). Notably, a poleward-advancing trend of 

warming temperatures in the Arctic has been recorded over the last few decades (Corell, 2006). Arctic 

Ocean regions, especially those subject to the influence of seasonal sea ice pack, are particularly 

sensitive to this trend. Warming waters at higher latitudes likely jeopardize fragile food webs, pushing 

habitability of certain ecosystems to the brink for vulnerable species, and increasing the risk of invasion 

by nonindigenous species (NIS) (Mueter and Norcross, 2002; Gollash, 2006; Herborg and others, 2007; 

Stram and Evans, 2009). In situ sea surface temperature (SST) measurements typically are made via 

buoys, or ocean-going vessels, but such measurements are irregular in both space and time. This is 

especially true in polar regions, where remoteness is compounded by sea ice and ice shelves, making 

exploration particularly dangerous and expensive. Satellite-based remote-sensing data have the 

advantage of extensive spatial coverage and high repeatability that is not possible with field 

observations. The moderate-resolution (4 km) Pathfinder versions 5.0 and 5.1 SST data (hereafter 

referred to as PFSST data) are derivative products of the data collected by the Advanced Very High 
2

Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument series flown by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES). These data provide a 

consistent set of SST measurements of a known quality and calibration for temperature pattern analyses 

of marine environments in the Arctic Ocean. A value-added Arctic SST product was created by 

combining processed PFSST data with The Nature Conservancy’s Marine Ecoregions of the World 

(MEOW) biogeographic schema (fig. 1) and is available for download from this open-file report 

(http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1246/). Additionally, these data were used to analyze seasonal SST 

patterns at the ecoregional scale using the MEOW geographical framework.

Figure 1. Map of Arctic realm as defined by the Marine Ecoregions of the World (MEOW; Spalding and others, 

2007). 
3

Data Description and Processing

AVHRR SST Data

The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) is a multi-generational, 6-channel 

instrument that has been flown on board a series of NOAA polar-orbiting satellites, and has been 

returning reliable SST data since 1981. Sea surface temperature is not measured directly; rather, it is 

derived from a differentiation of brightness temperatures recorded by two of the sensor's infrared (IR) 

channels (channels 4 and 5). Furthermore, the Pathfinder algorithm used to calculate SST accounts for 

the non-linear relationship between surface and brightness temperatures that arises from variable 

atmospheric water vapor content, and also uses matchup data from in situ buoys aggregated within 5-

month weighted windows, reducing bias due to temporal trends (Kilpatrick and others, 2001). The 

PFSST (and later) datasets were developed jointly by the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of 

Marine and Atmospheric Science and the NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) as a 

more accurate, downscaled (9.28–4 km) version of a previous global AVHRR dataset (Vazquez-Cuervo 

and others, 1998). Importantly for the study of the Arctic, the version 5 (and later) PFSST data also 

were improved through the implementation of an ice mask. We obtained the version 5 (PFSST monthly 

mean floating point data from the NASA JPL Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive 

Center (PO.DAAC) (ftp://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/OceanTemperature/avhrr/L3/pathfinder_v5/). PFSST

products (version 5.0 and 5.1) also are available through the NODC 

(ftp://data.nodc.noaa.gov/pub/data.nodc/pathfinder). For a detailed description of the AVHRR and 

Pathfinder algorithms, we direct the reader to Vazquez-Cuervo and others (1998; 2010) and Kilpatrick 

and others (2001). 

AVHRR Data Quality

The PFSST data include a quality flag product in which each SST pixel is designated a value 

ranging from 0 (worst quality) to 7 (best quality). These quality flags convey the level of confidence 

attributed to the SST value calculated for each pixel location. The level of confidence is evaluated on 

pixel-by-pixel performance with respect to a number of tests that estimate validity and consistency of 

brightness temperature readings, sun angle effects, and cloudiness, which are combined to establish an 

overall quality rating. The version 4 Pathfinder release of the SST dataset (PFSST V41) included a 

standard product called "best SST," or "BSST." BSST data includes pixels with quality flags greater 

than 3 (Kilpatrick and others, 2001). We generated an analogous SST product from the PFSST data by 

disregarding SST values with corresponding quality flag values of less than 4. 

Despite the rigors of the flagging algorithms, a small number of pixels with illegitimate jumps in 

SST gradient have been detected (Evans and others, 2009). The Arctic data presented here may 

potentially contain a few of these artifacts that may need to be removed by the user depending on their 

data requirements. Most occurrences can be eliminated by adopting a more rigorous quality standard 

(for example, only using data with corresponding quality flags of 7). However, this also serves to 

substantially reduce the amount of data available for analysis, a problem compounded by climatic 

conditions in the Arctic. 

In addition to performing the analyses discussed here with the BSST data, we repeated the 

analyses using data with quality flag values of 7 only. In table 1, we show the summary R-squared 

statistics comparing the BSST data to Q7 data using the ecoregional aggregation of monthly mean SSTs 

over 29 years. The only ecoregion having significantly divergent values when using the BSST product 

versus the Quality 7 product is the High Arctic (essentially the Arctic Ocean). This result is to be 

expected, however, due to the Arctic Ocean ice cover throughout much of the year. Although both 

BSST and Quality 7 data have ice masks to account for this, data on the periphery of the ice mask do not 

typically have quality flag of 7, thereby reducing the number of Quality 7 data as compared to BSST 

data.
4

Table 1. R-squared values from simple linear regression statistics between data with quality flag values of 4-7 

(BSST) and data with quality flag value of 7 only (Q7SST) for each Arctic ecoregion. 

[The only significant difference between them occurs in the High Arctic ecoregion (which is essentially the open Arctic 

Ocean), which is covered by sea ice for most of the year. Quality flag values on the ice margin generally are lower than 7]

Ecoregion BSST vs. Q7SST R-squared

Baffin Bay - Davis Strait 0.9933

Beaufort-Amundsen-Viscount Melville-Queen Maud 0.9828

Beaufort Sea - continental coast and shelf 0.9796

Chukchi Sea 0.9973

East Greenland Shelf 0.9745

East Siberian Sea 0.9867

Eastern Bering Sea 0.9997

High Arctic Archipelago 0.9735

High Arctic 0.6241

Hudson Complex 0.9964

Kara Sea 0.998

Lancaster Sound 0.9987

Laptev Sea 0.9894

North and East Barents Sea 0.9982

North and East Iceland 0.9999

North Greenland 0.9336

Northern Grand Banks - Southern Labrador 0.9999

Northern Labrador 0.9993

West Greenland Shelf 0.999

White Sea 0.9996

Data Accuracy

Currently (2011), the only reports on accuracy of Pathfinder SST values are linked to specific 

studies across a variety of spatial and temporal resolutions, pathfinder versions, and quality flag 

thresholds. In general, the temperature values are reported to have RMS errors between 0.1 and 1.0 °C 

(Kearns and others, 2000; Kilpatrick and others, 2001; Vazquez-Cuervo and others, 2010; Xu and 

Ignatov, 2010) when compared to in situ temperatures. However, it must be cautioned that in situ

temperature data derived from multiple sources, such as moored buoys and shipboard observations, are 

prone to large random errors and rarely have excellent agreement amongst them (for example, Kearns 

and others, 2000). Furthermore, in situ measurements are of bulk temperatures (typically taken between 

1 and 3 m depth) rather than true sea surface temperature. Lastly, comparison to in situ data sources, 

such as buoys and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), are not independent of 

PFSST data because these data (Reynolds and others, 2002) provide critical calibration and validation 

for the PFSST data product (Kilpatrick and others, 2001; Vazquez-Cuervo and others, 2010). When the 

scaling algorithm provided with the AVHRR data is applied, the resulting SST values are rounded to the 

nearest 10th of degree as accuracy of the SST data is approximately 0.5 °C (Jorge Vazquez-Cuervo, 

written commun., February 3, 2011). 
5

Arctic SST Product

We selected AVHRR data for their global coverage at moderate resolution (4 km), their long 

data record (about 30 years) relative to other satellite missions and their substantial level of processing, 

including extensive calibration and atmospheric correction. The data represent a time-series of monthly 

mean sea surface temperatures over the last 29 years. Here, we provide the monthly mean SST data in 

three forms: (1) georeferenced “.img” raster format, (2) georeferenced ESRI point shapefile (.shp) 

format, and (3) plain comma-delimited text format. There is one file of each type for each month of each 

year in the 1981–2009 record. They are downloadable through this OFR 

(http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1246/) in zipped files of yearly bundles containing the GIS layers as well 

as the related metadata files.

In some places, the data appear jagged, or "moth-eaten," immediately adjacent to the coast and at 

very high latitude. Satellite data for some coastal regions are missing or are unusable due to low quality, 

most often due to climatic conditions. Furthermore, the Pathfinder data developers used a MOD12Q1 

land mask, which has a 1-km resolution, to define their coastline. Missing data in the vicinity of the 

North Pole (as seen in fig. 2) is caused by several phenomena. First, the near-polar orbits of the satellites 

housing the AVHRR instruments never quite reach the pole. Second, sea ice plays a significant role 

throughout most of the year. We examined the Sea Ice Index extent product generated by the National 

Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) (Fetterer and others, 2002, updated 2009) and found that the 

missing data surrounding the North Pole (for example, see fig. 2) corresponds well with the sea ice 

margin delineated by the NSIDC index. Third, in some instances, pixels have been eliminated due to 

cloud cover and to the Pathfinder SST algorithm resulting in pixels with values less than -2.0 °C that 

must be eliminated due to infeasibility. For all datasets, SST values are recorded in degrees Celsius.
6

Figure 2. Map of monthly average SSTs in the Arctic Ocean ecoregions for September 2009. Figure 2A is raster 

format data, figure 2B is point shapefile format data. The absence of data at the pole approximately 

corresponds to the sea ice coverage for September 2009 (Fetterer and others, 2002, updated 2009). 

A

B 
7

Data Processing

The processes and scripts used to convert the AVHRR data to SST shapefile and text data are 

described in Payne and others (2011). An important difference distinguishing the Arctic data from the 

Northern Pacific data of the previous report is that no buffer was implemented to constrain the Arctic 

data to the nearshore region. Furthermore, the Python scripts provided here have been modified from the 

original scripts used to derive the geospatial data in order to integrate the ArcGIS 10 “arcpy” module for 

compatibility with ArcGIS 10 and Python v. 2.6. 

Arctic raster, shapefile, and text (.csv) data are available for download from the "downloads" 

page of this website (click "downloads" on the left-side menu). Each point in an Arctic point shapefile 

was created by extracting the temperature value from the centroid of a corresponding grid cell in the 

Arctic raster dataset. Because the data volumes are very large, the text (.csv) files are further divided 

into individual ecoregions, resulting in one .csv file per month per year per ecoregion for Arctic SST 

data. This data partition scheme was necessary to accommodate memory constraints experienced during 

processing (text files were generated with R (R Development Team, 2009)). These divisions were not 

necessary for the shapefile and raster data. 

Temperature Pattern Analysis

MEOW Framework

In the effort to characterize Arctic Ocean environments at a regional scale, we analyzed the SST 

measurements by marine “ecoregions” as defined by The Nature Conservancy in their MEOW 

biogeographic schema (Spalding and others, 2007). The MEOW schema is a global hierarchical 

classification system of coastal zones that divides the world’s coastal areas into 12 distinct marine

“realms.” The realms are further divided into 62 marine “provinces,” which are further divided into 232 

“ecoregions.” The analyses presented here focus on the 19 ecoregions within the Arctic realm (fig. 1).

Additionally, the Arctic Ocean to the north of the MEOW Arctic ecoregions is included in the analyses, 

resulting in the creation of one additional ecoregion named “High Arctic.” 

The following protocol is used to describe the SST patterns within an individual ecoregion. All 

29 years of the derived SST values of mean monthly SST grid cells within an ecoregion were pooled to 

calculate the monthly mean SSTs for each ecoregion, as well as a suite of other metrics derived from the 

monthly means as summarized in tables 2 and 3. 

Study Area

The Arctic and High Arctic ecoregions are shown in figure 1. We do not adhere to the strict 

definition of the Arctic including only the area north of the Arctic Circle (about 66.5 oN circle of 

latitude). We include the entire areas of the Eastern Bering Sea and Northern Grand Banks-Southern 

Labrador ecoregions, which fall outside of the Arctic Circle. Much of the High Arctic is subject to 

perennial sea ice cover, and thus has a relatively steady annual surface temperature cycle, with little 

month-to-month (or within-month) variations (fig. 3). However, even lower latitude ecoregions (for 

example, the Bering Sea) are greatly affected by seasonal sea ice cover and have been the subject of 

recent research due to dramatic reductions in seasonal sea ice and multi-year sea ice, especially notable 

within the last decade. Presence of sea ice keeps benthic waters cold by preventing convection and 

mixing with surface water. Spatial sea ice cover and summer retreat is variable from year-to-year, and 

young ice can greatly influence the rate and potential for summer ice melt (Drobot and others, 2008). 

However, it is the thicker, multi-year ice that moderates long-term Arctic water temperatures, and multiyear ice is becoming progressively younger (Maslanik and others, 2007). The trend in sea ice reduction 
8

has been concurrent with a shift in biodiversity away from benthic shelf populations and towards 

pelagic species—a trend threatening to disrupt the stability of Arctic food-webs (Grebmeier and others, 

2006; Mueter and Litzow, 2008). 

Arctic Annual Cycles

Table 2 identifies and defines the metrics used in the analysis and figure 3 provides a 

diagrammatic description of these metrics. Table 3 provides summary statistics for most of the metrics.

Figure 4 shows the mean annual SST cycles experienced within Arctic ecoregions over the 29-year 

period with statistical metrics that are summarized in table 2. The mean annual SST (29-year mean) 

among the Arctic ecoregions ranges from -1.2 °C in the High Arctic Archipelago ecoregion to a 

maximum of 3.8 °C in the Eastern Bering Sea. There is a significant decreasing trend of variance in SST 

with mean latitude. The ecoregions with the greatest variance are the White Sea, Eastern Bering Sea, 

and Northern Grand Banks-Southern Labrador, and those with the least variance are the High Arctic and 

High Arctic Archipelago ecoregions (fig. 4). Undoubtedly, this is the result of sea ice extent over the 

Arctic Ocean. The mean annual SST cycles in the Arctic ecoregions are shown in figure 4. Within an 

ecoregion, the range of the annual cycle is defined by the difference between the minimum 29-year 

monthly mean and the maximum 29-year monthly mean SST (see fig. 3, table 2). The minimum 

monthly mean SST in the Eastern Bering Sea and North and East Iceland occurs in April. The High 

Arctic, North and East Barents Sea, Northern Labrador, and East Greenland Shelf have minimums 

occurring in May, and the East Siberian Sea and Beaufort-Amundsen-Viscount Melville-Queen Maud 

experience SST minimums in January. The remainder of the Arctic ecoregions have minimum monthlymean SSTs occurring in February and March. The annual cycle temperature ranges generally are 

greater at lower latitudes and in inland/marginal water bodies (for example, White Sea and Northern 

Grand Banks-Southern Labrador ranges greater than 10 °C) as opposed to ecoregions at polar latitudes 

(High Arctic and High Arctic Archipelago ranges less than 2 °C). The greatest annual cycle temperature 

range occurs in the White Sea ecoregion, which has a range of 11 °C, and the High Arctic ecoregion has 

the smallest range of about 0.8 °C. 

Table 2. SST metrics used in analyses presented in this study. 

[Definitions explained in this table are referred to throughout the text] 

SST analysis metric Metric description Metric dimensions

Derived SST values SST values derived from PFSST product. Each value 

represents a monthly mean for each grid cell

1 value per grid cell of 

acceptable quality, 1 

raster per month over 29 

years (340 rasters)

Monthly-mean SST per ecoregion

The 29-year average of all of the derived SST values 

(above product) within an ecoregion for each of the 12 

months.

20 ecoregions × 12 

months

Mean annual cycle 12 monthly means for each ecoregion 20 annual cycles (fig. 4)

Range of annual cycle

Difference between warmest (maximum) monthly 

mean and coolest (minimum) monthly mean per 

ecoregion

20 ranges

Mean annual SST (29-year mean) Mean of the monthly mean SST per ecoregion over 

the 29-year period 1 value × 20 ecoregions

Variance in SST Variance of all derived SST values within an 

ecoregion over the 29-year period 1 value × 20 ecoregions

Within-month SST variations (5th

and 95th quantiles)

The 5th and 95th quantile values for each month of all 

derived SST values within each ecoregion.

2 values × 12 months × 

20 ecoregions
9

Table 3. Statistical metrics for Arctic and High Arctic ecoregions.

Province Ecoregion

Approx. Ecoregion 

Center Lat/Lon

(°N,°W)

Temperature (°C) 29-year 

mean 

standard 

deviation

(°C)

29-year 

Mean

Min. 

monthly 

mean

Max. 

monthly 

mean

Range of 

annual 

cycle

High Arctic High Arctic 85.6, -178.8 -0.8 -1.2 -0.4 0.8 0.2 Arctic

North Greenland 81.3, -37.0 -1.0 -1.7 0.2 2.0 0.7

High Arctic 

Archipelago 80.8, -90.8 -1.2 -1.9 -0.2 1.7 0.5

North and East 

Barents Sea 76.7, +40.4 1.8 0.8 3.8 3.0 1.1

Kara Sea 74.5, +81.4 -0.4 -1.6 1.7 3.3 1.2

Laptev Sea 73.4, +123.0 -0.5 -2.0 1.3 3.3 1.2

Lancaster Sound 72.8, -89.9 -0.6 -1.9 0.9 2.8 1.0

East Siberian Sea 72.6, +159.3 -0.5 -1.4 0.6 2.0 0.7

Baffin Bay-Davis 

Strait 71.8, -71.1 -0.3 -1.7 2.5 4.2 1.5

Chukchi Sea 71.2, -169.5 0.3 -1.5 3.6 5.1 1.9

BeaufortAmundsenViscount MelvilleQueen Maud

69.9, -111.8 -0.2 -1.8 1.4 3.3 1.1

Beaufort Seacontinental coast 

and shelf

69.8, -142.0 -0.3 -1.5 1.7 3.2 1.2

East Greenland 

Shelf 69.0, -30.4 3.4 1.9 4.6 2.6 0.7

North and East 

Iceland 69.0, -12.6 2.7 0.5 6.4 5.9 2.1

West Greenland 

Shelf 68.7, -53.8 1.9 0.5 4.9 4.3 1.6

White Sea 65.6, +37.0 3.1 -1.1 9.9 11.0 4.1

Northern Labrador 61.6, -63.3 1.0 -0.5 4.0 4.5 1.6

Hudson Complex 60.0, -81.5 0.9 -1.2 5.4 6.6 2.3

Eastern Bering Sea 60.0, -169.7 3.8 0.3 9.4 9.2 3.4

Northern Grand 

Banks-Southern 

Labrador

52.2, -55.5 3.1 -0.7 9.9 10.6 3.9
10

The second type of temporal fluctuation experienced within each ecoregion is referred to as 

within-month SST variations, which is defined as the 5th and 95th quantiles and shown as the dotted 

envelopes in figure 3. Arctic ecoregions experience a large range of within-month temperatures. In 

general, this range is greatest in summer months (June–October), with some notable exceptions (for 

example, High Arctic). Many ecoregions have a wide span of within-month SST variability throughout 

the year, including North and East Barents Sea, East Greenland Shelf, North and East Iceland, West 

Greenland Shelf, Eastern Bering Sea, and Northern Grand Banks-Southern Labrador. These ecoregions 

tend to be along conduits open to the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean basins, such as the Bering Strait and 

Davis Strait, respectively. This flow between the Arctic Ocean and larger water bodies allows easy 

mixing and within-month temperature variations of as much as 10 °C. 

Figure 3. Legend diagram for figure 4.
11

Figure 4. Arctic Ocean ecoregion plots of annual cycles of mean monthly SSTs.
12

Clustering Analysis

To compare the SST regimes of the ecoregions, we performed a Euclidean-distance measure 

hierarchical clustering analysis based on ecoregion SST means, minimums, maximums, ranges, and 

variances. In each case, the ecoregional SSTs group into two main branches (fig. 4), one of which 

contained the White Sea and Northern Grand Banks-Southern Labrador ecoregions irrespective of what 

SST metric was used. The High Arctic and High Arctic Archipelago ecoregions always cluster together 

for each SST metric, and are always grouped on the alternate branch from the White Sea and Northern 

Grand Banks-Southern Labrador ecoregions. Similarly, the Beaufort-Amundsen-Viscount MelvilleQueen Maud and Beaufort Sea-continental coast and shelf ecoregions are nearly always grouped 

together by SST clustering metric and are always on the same major branch as the High Arctic and High 

Arctic Archipelago pair, opposing the Northern Grand Banks-Southern Labrador/White Sea at the first 

major clustering division. Lancaster Sound, Laptev Sea and Kara Sea are always closely related.

Perhaps the most variable of the Arctic ecoregions is North Greenland, which is never found to be 

equivalent to any other ecoregion clustered by any of the SST metrics explored here. The Eastern 

Bering Sea ecoregion also shows a great deal of variation amongst the clustering metrics, but is not 

always uniquely discernible from all other ecoregions as is North Greenland. As seen in figure 4, which 

shows the Arctic ecoregions clustered based on all SST metrics simultaneously, five statistically 

significant cluster groups can be discerned. The red boxes denote clusters where p > 0.95. 

The minimum, maximum, and mean SST Arctic ecoregion clusters correspond generally, but not 

perfectly, to latitudinal similarities between ecoregions. An exception is the Hudson Complex 

ecoregion, which despite its comparatively low-latitude experiences low SSTs and little within-month 

variation during winter, and relatively high SSTs with a vast within-month SST range in summer. The 

behavioral enigma of this ecoregion may be due to fresh water influence in the system, which controls 

the circulation by causing convective mixing in the winter, and rapid sea-ice breakup, melt, and water 

column stratification in summer (Galbraith and Larouche, 2011). 
13

Figure 5. Euclidean distance cluster diagram for Arctic Ocean ecoregions based on 29-year mean, minimum, 

maximum, annual range and annual variance of SST. The red boxes denote clusters where p > 0.95. 

Downloads

Data Catalog

This report contains Geographic Information System (GIS) data in georeferenced vector (point) 

and raster formats. The vector (point) data are available as Environmental Systems Research Institute 

(ESRI) shapefiles and as comma-separated text (*.csv) files. Shapefiles generally include *.shp, *.shx, 

*.xml, and *.dbf files at a minimum. All these data files also include the *.prj files, which contain the 

dataset projection information. The corresponding 4-km resolution raster data are available in Imagine 

*.img format.

The GIS files have been bundled by year. Each year of raster data (GRID-type) has an associated 

compressed WinRAR zip file. The corresponding shp and csv data types have compressed WinRAR 

RAR files, due to the large size capacity of RAR archives. Hence, every compressed file may contain up 

to 12 months of data. In addition to the spatial data, we provide Federal Geographic Data Committee 

(FGDC) -compliant metadata in text and HTML formats. The metadata text files are bundled with their 

corresponding zip files, and the metadata HTML information can be viewed in your web browser by 

clicking the appropriate link in the table below. 
14

To download the data, right-click on the appropriate filename link in the 'Filename' column (that 

corresponds to the desired data type) in the table below. Then select 'Save Target As...' to save a 

compressed WinRAR file to your local hard drive. The download zipped file size is indicated under the 

'file size' column. All downloaded files are of type ".zip". The File Type description in the table below 

indicates the type of files found within the downloadable zip files. 

Filename Description File Type File Size Metadata

2009

ArcticSST2009rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2009 in .img raster format. 

.img 6.5 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2009pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2009 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

35.7 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2009csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2009 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

34.4 MB Available 

online

2008

ArcticSST2008rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2008 in .img raster format. 

.img 6.2 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2008pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2008 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

35.0 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2008csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2008 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

34.1 MB Available 

online

2007

ArcticSST2007rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2007 in .img raster format. 

.img 5.2 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2007pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2007 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

37.7 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2007csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2007 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

36.6 MB Available 

online

2006

ArcticSST2006rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2006 in .img raster format. 

.img 4.6 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2006pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2006 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

36.8 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2006csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2006 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

35.6 MB Available 

online

2005

ArcticSST2005rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2005 in .img raster format. 

.img 4.8 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2005pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2005 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

34.4 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2005csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2005 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

33.1 MB Available 

online

2004

ArcticSST2004rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2004 in .img raster format. 

.img 3.8 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2004pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2004 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

28.0 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2004csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2004 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

26.4 MB Available 

online
15

2003

ArcticSST2003rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2003 in .img raster format. 

.img 3.3 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2003pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2003 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

23.4 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2003csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2003 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

21.8 MB Available 

online

2002

ArcticSST2002rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2002 in .img raster format. 

.img 4.3 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2002pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2002 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

29.5 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2002csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2002 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

28.2 MB Available 

online

2001

ArcticSST2001rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2001 in .img raster format. 

.img 3.2 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2001pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2001 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

22.5 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2001csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2001 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

20.1 MB Available 

online

2000

ArcticSST2000rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2000 in .img raster format. 

.img 7.0 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2000pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2000 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

67.3 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST2000csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

2000 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

67.6 MB Available 

online

1999

ArcticSST1999rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1999 in .img raster format. 

.img 3.9 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1999pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1999 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

29.2 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1999csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1999 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

27.3 MB Available 

online

1998

ArcticSST1998rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1998 in .img raster format. 

.img 3.8 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1998pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1998 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

27.6 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1998csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1998 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

25.8 MB Available 

online

1997

ArcticSST1997rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1997 in .img raster format. 

.img 3.9 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1997pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1997 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

29.5 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1997csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1997 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

28.1 MB Available 

online
16

1996

ArcticSST1996rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1996 in .img raster format. 

.img 3.7 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1996pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1996 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

27.2 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1996csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1996 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

26.2 MB Available 

online

1995

ArcticSST1995rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1995 in .img raster format. 

.img 1.6 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1995pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1995 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

8.7 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1995csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1995 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

6.4 MB Available 

online

1994

ArcticSST1994rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1994 in .img raster format. 

.img 5.3 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1994pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1994 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

56.4 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1994csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1994 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

54.3 MB Available 

online

1993

ArcticSST1993rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1993 in .img raster format. 

.img 5.7 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1993pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1993 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

54.8 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1993csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1993 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

54.0 MB Available 

online

1992

ArcticSST1992rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1992 in .img raster format. 

.img 5.2 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1992pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1992 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

53.7 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1992csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1992 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

51.3 MB Available 

online

1991

ArcticSST1991rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1991 in .img raster format. 

.img 6.3 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1991pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1991 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

63.4 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1991csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1991 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

62.6 MB Available 

online

1990

ArcticSST1990rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1990 in .img raster format. 

.img 5.7 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1990pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1990 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

60.5 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1990csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1990 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

60.8 MB Available 

online
17

1989

ArcticSST1989rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1989 in .img raster format. 

.img 5.4 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1989pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1989 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

52.4 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1989csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1989 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

51.2 MB Available 

online

1988

ArcticSST1988rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1988 in .img raster format. 

.img 5.5 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1988pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1988 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

57.2 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1988csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1988 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

55.4 MB Available 

online

1987

ArcticSST1987rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1987 in .img raster format. 

.img 5.7 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1987pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1987 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

56.5 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1987csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1987 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

55.3 MB Available 

online

1986

ArcticSST1986rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1986 in .img raster format. 

.img 5.7 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1986pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1986 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

54.4 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1986csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1986 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

53.1 MB Available 

online

1985

ArcticSST1985rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1985 in .img raster format. 

.img 5.8 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1985pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1985 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

59.1 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1985csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1985 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

59.0 MB Available 

online

1984

ArcticSST1984rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1984 in .img raster format. 

.img 5.3 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1984pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1984 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

49.1 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1984csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1984 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

49.2 MB Available 

online

1983

ArcticSST1983rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1983 in .img raster format. 

.img 4.9 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1983pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1983 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

52.6 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1983csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1983 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

51.5 MB Available 

online
18

1982

ArcticSST1982rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1982 in .img raster format. 

.img 8.5 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1982pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1982 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

51.6 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1982csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1982 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

51.8 MB Available 

online

1981‡

ArcticSST1981rast.zip Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1981 in .img raster format. 

.img 2.7 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1981pt.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1981 in ESRI (point) shapefile format. 

ESRI shapefile 

(*.shp) 

14.9 MB Available 

online

ArcticSST1981csv.rar Arctic Ocean monthly mean SST data for 

1981 in .csv format. 

Comma-separated 

text file (*.csv) 

14.3 MB Available 

online

‡

These files contain only the 4 months of data that are available for 1981. 09/1981 – 12/1981.

Acknowledgments

This publication has been reviewed by personnel of the National Health and Environmental 

Effects Research Laboratory's Western Ecology Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Fisheries Research Center. The information in this document 

has been funded in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. However, approval does not 

signify that the contents reflect the views of the U.S. EPA. 

References Cited 

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Human Environment, v. 35, no. 4, p. 148-152. 

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2008 Arctic sea ice cover and prospects for a new record in 2008: Geophys. Res. Lett., v. 35, no. 19, 

p. L19501.

Evans, R.H., Vasquez, J., and Casey, K.S., 2009, 4 km Pathfinder Version 5 User Guide, United States 

Department of Commerce, National Oceanographic Data Center. PDF available at 

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/sog/pathfinder4km/userguide.html. 

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National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media.

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relation to air temperature and ice cover breakup, 1985-2009: Journal of Marine Systems, v. 87, no. 1, 

p. 66-78. 

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Assessment and Control of Biological Invasion Risks: Kyoto, Japan; Gland, Switzerland, Shoukadoh 

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Helle, J.H., McLaughlin, F.A., and McNutt, S.L., 2006, A Major Ecosystem Shift in the Northern 

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Herborg, L.-M., Jerde, C.L., Lodge, D.M., Ruiz, G.M., and Macisaac, H.J., 2007, Predicting invasion 

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vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climage Change, 976 p. 

Kearns, E.J., Hanafin, J.A., Evans, R.H., Minnett, P.J., and Brown, O.B., 2000, An Independent 

Assessment of Pathfinder AVHRR Sea Surface Temperature Accuracy Using the Marine Atmosphere 

Emitted Radiance Interferometer (MAERI): Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, v. 81, 

no. 7, p. 1525-1536. 

Kilpatrick, K.A., Podesta, G.P., and Evans, R., 2001, Overview of the NOAA/NASA advanced very 

high resolution radiometer Pathfinder algorithm for sea surface temperature and associated matchup 

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thinner Arctic ice cover: Increased potential for rapid, extensive sea-ice loss: Geophys. Res. Lett., v. 

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Mueter, F.J., and Litzow, M.A., 2008, Sea ice retreat alters the biogeography of the Bering Sea 

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20

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Publishing support provided by the U.S. Geological Survey

Publishing Network, Tacoma Publishing Service Center

For more information concerning the research in this report, contact the 

Director, Western Fisheries Research Center

U.S. Geological Survey

6505 NE 65th Street

Seattle, Washington 98115

http://wfrc.usgs.gov/
Printed on recycled paper

Payne and others—Moderate-Resolution Sea Surface Temperature Data and Seasonal Pattern Analysis for the Arctic Ocean Ecoregions—Open-File Report 2011–1246