2006 Sea Surface Temperatures Rising in the Gulf of Mexico

  • Released Thursday, June 1, 2006
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Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico rise due to natural summer warming. These warm surface temperatures are a contributing factor to favorable conditions that can lead to the formation of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Eastern Shore of the United States. In general, hurricanes tend to form over warm ocean water whose temperature is 82 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 27.7 degrees Celsius) or higher. These areas are depicted in yellow, orange, and red. This data was taken by the AMSR-E instrument aboard the Aqua satellite.

This animation depicts the 2006 seasonal changes.

This animation shows the progression of warm waters slowly filling the Gulf of Mexico (shown in yellow, orange, and red). This natural annual warming contributes to the possible formation of hurricanes in the Gulf. SST data shown here ranges from February 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006.

The legend for sea surface temperature. The color scale ranges from dark blue for areas below 15C to dark red for regions above 35C.

The legend for sea surface temperature. The color scale ranges from dark blue for areas below 15C to dark red for regions above 35C.

SST data for the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast on October 31, 2006.

SST data for the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast on October 31, 2006.

Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on February 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on February 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on March 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic
on March 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on April 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic
on April 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on May 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic
on May 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on June 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on June 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on July 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on July 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on August 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on August 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on September 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on September 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on October 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on October 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on November 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on November 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on December 1, 2006.

Sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic on December 1, 2006.

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

This page was originally published on Thursday, June 1, 2006.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:55 PM EDT.

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Datasets used

Note: While we identify the data sets used on this page, we do not store any further details, nor the data sets themselves on our site.