A blended satellite - In situ near-global surface temperature dataset

A near-global surface temperature dataset was produced by blending several sources of information. For the oceans, these include in situ and infrared satellite-derived sea surface temperatures that were already processed into a monthly product. Land data analysis uses two sources of data. The first is high quality monthly in situ reports from the Global Historical Climatol ogic Network with more than 1000 stations from around the world. The second source of information is the recently developed passive microwave satellit e-derived land surface temperature derivation methodology described in Will iams ct al. These data are blended on a 1 degrees x 1 degrees grid that exc ludes only ice- and snow-covered regions lacking in situ observations. Avai lable starting in January 1992 and updated 10 days after the end of the cal endar month, this product is useful for monitoring regional climate anomali es and provides insights into climate variations.