VIIRS views the Gulf Stream
![](https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/10/VIIRS_ACSPOSSTGulfStream-20231004_060808toggle.gif)
Mostly clear skies over the western Atlantic on 4 October 2023 meant that the Advanced Clear Sky Processor for Oceans (ACSPO) algorithm could produce a near-complete picture of sea-surface temperatures using data from NOAA-20’s VIIRS instrument. The sinuous Gulf Stream is marked as a region of warmest waters, around 85oF off the coast of South Carolina (pink in the enhancement used); once past 70oW Longitude, warmest surface waters in the Gulf Stream are closer to 80oF (orange in the enhancement).
There is a GOES-16 Level 2 Sea Surface Temperature product as well, computed hourly; it is shown in the animation below that brackets the VIIRS SSTs shown above (and here).
![](https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/10/G16SSTs-20231004_0400_to_0900step.gif)
The toggle below compares the higher-spatial-resolution VIIRS SST field with the GOES Level 2 Product.
![](https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/10/N20VIIRS_SST_0608_G16SSTs-20231004_0600toggle.gif)