The focus of my research is studying detections of ocean fronts and sea surface temperature gradients in AVHRR Pathfinder satellite data from 1982- 2010 on a global scale. Using the near-30-yr record of sea surface temperature to examine the (1) number, (2) location and (3) strength of oceanic fronts as a function of time. Ocean fronts and temperature gradients play a large role in ocean salinity, biology and chemistry; these oceanic features impact climate by affecting the marine ecosystem and air-sea gas exchange. Using the Pathfinder data allows us to have high resolution (4-km) sea surface temperature, record length, and global coverage; this time series provides a unique opportunity to examine temporal changes in oceanic fronts; these changes that may result from modification of wind stress or differential heating.