Satellite-based estimates of downwelling solar radiation in the 400–700 nm range available for photosynthesis at the ocean surface. The data suite quantifies daily usable light energy in moles of photons m⁻² and is produced by OB_CLOUD. These products are used to estimate marine primary production and interpret phytoplankton bloom dynamics.
Use Cases
- Estimate marine primary production based on daily photosynthetically available radiation (PAR).
- Interpret phytoplankton bloom dynamics based on satellite-derived light energy estimates.
- Provide context for optical and biogeochemical measurements based on surface PAR data.
- Support ecosystem models of ocean biology based on quantified usable light energy.
Strengths
- Data provides a specific geophysical variable: daily photosynthetically available radiation (mol photons m⁻² d⁻¹).
- Derived from the ENVISAT MERIS satellite instrument, indicating a spaceborne observation source.
Limitations
- Last updated 2012-05-09 00:00:00; freshness should be verified.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
Provenance
- Source
- OB_CLOUD via nasa_earthdata
- Collection Method
- Satellite remote sensing from the ENVISAT MERIS instrument.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2012-05-09 00:00:00
- Geography
- Global ocean