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The magnitude of the grid-box sampling uncertainty depends on the correlation and variability of SSTs within the grid box, on the number of observations contributing to the grid-box average and where in the grid box they are located. High average correlations within a grid box, low variability and large numbers of observations lead to lower uncertainty estimates. Conversely areas of high variability or low average correlation, such as frontal regions or western boundary currents, tend to have higher grid-box sampling uncertainties as do grid-box averages based on smaller numbers of observations. The estimation of uncertainties arising from the sparseness of observations at scales from grid box level to global has been approached in a number of ways.
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