NOAA CoastWatch provides sea surface temperature (SST) products derived from NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES). These products are created by combining three separate images, each created 1-hour apart and retaining the most recent temperature value. Therefore, the near real-time images are updated every three hours.

GOES SST is determined by applying a regression equation to measurements from the infrared channels. Multispectral information for channels 1, 2, 4 and 5 are used to identify clouds, wind effects, and other factors that may affect the values. Each GOES satellite has its own SST regression equation. GOES SST spatial resolution is nominally 4 km.

Validation of these algorithms was performed by comparing GOES-SST retrievals against a quality controlled data set from global drifting and moored buoy SST measurements. Comparisons were performed within one hour and 5km of each other. Results show that the GOES-Buoy SST comparison has a bias of 0.5 degree C and a standard deviation less than 1 degree C. Validation results are available for 2013 and earlier.