# SSTODE: Ocean-Atmosphere Physics-Informed Neural ODEs for Sea Surface Temperature Prediction

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.05629 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.05629/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 18 of its 44 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 7 Nov 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 18 of 18)

- [Neural Ordinary Differential Equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.07366/) (2018)
- [Fourier Neural Operator for Parametric Partial Differential Equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.08895/) (2020)
- [Transolver: A Fast Transformer Solver for PDEs on General Geometries](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.02366/) (2024)
- [U-FNO -- An enhanced Fourier neural operator-based deep-learning model for multiphase flow](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.03697/) (2021)
- [U-NO: U-shaped Neural Operators](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.11127/) (2022)
- [PredRNN: A Recurrent Neural Network for Spatiotemporal Predictive Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.09504/) (2021)
- [Solving High-Dimensional PDEs with Latent Spectral Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.12664/) (2023)
- [Temporal Attention Unit: Towards Efficient Spatiotemporal Predictive Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.12126/) (2022)
- [OpenSTL: A Comprehensive Benchmark of Spatio-Temporal Predictive Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.11249/) (2023)
- [Learning continuous-time PDEs from sparse data with graph neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.08956/) (2020)
- [VMRNN: Integrating Vision Mamba and LSTM for Efficient and Accurate Spatiotemporal Forecasting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.16536/) (2024)
- [AI-GOMS: Large AI-Driven Global Ocean Modeling System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.03152/) (2023)
- [Air Quality Prediction with Physics-Guided Dual Neural ODEs in Open Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.19892/) (2024)
- [Generalizing Weather Forecast to Fine-grained Temporal Scales via Physics-AI Hybrid Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.13796/) (2024)
- [SimVPv2: Towards Simple yet Powerful Spatiotemporal Predictive Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.12509/) (2022)
- [Climate Modeling with Neural Diffusion Equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.06011/) (2021)
- [DeepPhysiNet: Bridging Deep Learning and Atmospheric Physics for Accurate and Continuous Weather Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.04125/) (2024)
- [RANS-PINN based Simulation Surrogates for Predicting Turbulent Flows](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.06034/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Sea Surface Temperature (SST) is crucial for understanding upper-ocean thermal dynamics and ocean-atmosphere interactions, which have profound economic and social impacts. While data-driven models show promise in SST prediction, their black-box nature often limits interpretability and overlooks key physical processes. Recently, physics-informed neural networks have been gaining momentum but struggle with complex ocean-atmosphere dynamics due to 1) inadequate characterization of seawater movement (e.g., coastal upwelling) and 2) insufficient integration of external SST drivers (e.g., turbulent heat fluxes). To address these challenges, we propose SSTODE, a physics-informed Neural Ordinary Differential Equations (Neural ODEs) framework for SST prediction. First, we derive ODEs from fluid transport principles, incorporating both advection and diffusion to model ocean spatiotemporal dynamics. Through variational optimization, we recover a latent velocity field that explicitly governs the temporal dynamics of SST. Building upon ODE, we introduce an Energy Exchanges Integrator (EEI)-inspired by ocean heat budget equations-to account for external forcing factors. Thus, the variations in the components of these factors provide deeper insights into SST dynamics. Extensive experiments demonstrate that SSTODE achieves state-of-the-art performances in global and regional SST forecasting benchmarks. Furthermore, SSTODE visually reveals the impact of advection dynamics, thermal diffusion patterns, and diurnal heating-cooling cycles on SST evolution. These findings demonstrate the model's interpretability and physical consistency.