GCOM-W/AMSR2 L2 Sea Surface Temperature dataset is obtained from the AMSR2 sensor onboard GCOM-W and produced by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

GCOM-W was launched by the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 21 (H-IIA F21) at 1:39 a.m. on May 18th, 2012 (Japan Standard Time, JST) and inserted into a planned position on the "A-Train" orbit. GCOM-W equipped with AMSR2 takes measurements at multiple microwave frequencies and multiple polarizations of weak electromagnetic waves in the microwave band radiated from the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere. AMSR2 has swath of 1450 km and 7 microwave bands. The observation data will enable the creation of long-term trustworthy data sets of global physical amount.

Level 2 products calculates various geophysical parameters related to water using the Level 1B or 1R products as inputs.

This dataset includes Sea Surface Temperature (SST), temperature of water at ocean surface. Coverage of the product is over the ocean only, and unit is [degree]. Its horizontal resolution is about 20-30 km and coarser than that of optical instruments. Microwave radiometer, however, can observe ocean surface through clouds, and monitor continuous change of sea surface temperature over the ocean where few clear region can be found in specific areas or seasons. The Pixel Data Quality is quality flag stored for each observation point.