Sea surface temperature
Sea surface temperature (SST) is the water temperature close to the ocean's surface. The exact meaning of surface varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between 1 millimetre (0.04 in) and 20 metres (70 ft) below the sea surface. Air masses in the Earth's atmosphere are highly modified by sea surface temperatures within a short distance of the shore. Localized areas of heavy snow can form in bands downwind of warm water bodies within an otherwise cold air mass. Warm sea surface temperatures are known to be a cause of tropical cyclogenesis over the Earth's oceans. Tropical cyclones can also cause a cool wake, due to turbulent mixing of the upper 30 metres (100 ft) of the ocean. SST changes diurnally, like the air above it, but to a lesser degree due to its higher specific heat. There is less SST variation on breezy days than on calm days. In addition, ocean currents such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), can effect SST's on multi-decadal time scales, a major impact results from the global thermohaline circulation, which affects average SST significantly throughout most of the world's oceans.
Planetary equilibrium temperature
The planetary equilibrium temperature is a theoretical temperature that a planet would be at when considered simply as if it were a black body being heated only by its parent star. In this model, the presence or absence of an atmosphere (and therefore any greenhouse effect) is not considered, and one treats the theoretical black body temperature as if it came from an idealized surface of the planet.
Other authors use different names for this concept, such as equivalent blackbody temperature of a planet, or the effective radiation emission temperature of the planet. Similar concepts include the global mean temperature, global radiative equilibrium, and global-mean surface air temperature, which includes the effects of global warming.
Calculation of semi-blackbody temperature
If the incident solar radiation ("insolation") on the planet at its orbital distance from the Sun is Io, the amount of energy absorbed by the planet will depend on its albedo a and its cross-sectional area:
