Ocean Science www.ocean-sci.net 1812-0784 1812-0792 3 2 2007 10.5194/os-3-299-2007 http://www.ocean-sci.net/3/299/2007/ http://www.ocean-sci.net/3/299/2007/os-3-299-2007.html http://www.ocean-sci.net/3/299/2007/os-3-299-2007.pdf 299 310 2007-05-30 Observing the Mediterranean Sea from space: 21 years of Pathfinder-AVHRR sea surface temperatures (1985 to 2005): re-analysis and validation S. Marullo salvatore.marullo@casaccia.enea.it B. Buongiorno Nardelli M. Guarracino R. Santoleri ENEA, Centro Ricerche Frascati, Via Enrico Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati, Italia CNR, Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima, Gruppo Oceanografia da Satellite, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Roma, Italia The time series of satellite infrared AVHRR data from 1985 to 2005 has been used to produce a daily series of optimally interpolated SST maps over the regular grid of the operational MFSTEP OGCM model of the Mediterranean basin. 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