MERIS Level-2 Full Resolution Geophysical Product for Ocean, Land, and Atmosphere

Global satellite data from the European Space Agency's MERIS instrument aboard the Envisat-1 satellite, covering March 2002 to April 2012. The dataset provides Level-2 geophysical products from a 2020 reprocessing cycle, containing 64 measurement files per product for water-leaving, land surface, and top-of-atmosphere reflectance across 15 programmable spectral bands. It offers global coverage every 3 days at a 300-meter resolution.

Use Cases

• Monitoring ocean color and phytoplankton concentrations using the 13 water-leaving reflectance files.
• Analyzing land surface changes and vegetation health via the 13 land surface reflectance files.
• Studying atmospheric properties and aerosol optical depth using top-of-atmosphere reflectance data.
• Calibrating and validating climate models with geophysical parameters for ocean, land, and atmosphere.
• Conducting time-series analysis of environmental changes from 2002 to 2012 at a 300m resolution.

Strengths

• Data underwent a 2020 reprocessing cycle (4th reprocessing), improving consistency and accuracy.
• Provides global coverage every 3 days with a 300-meter spatial resolution.
• Contains 64 specific measurement files per product, including 13 each for water, land, and atmospheric reflectance.
• Instrument had 15 programmable spectral bands within the 390 nm to 1040 nm range for targeted sensing.

Limitations

• Mission ended abruptly in April 2012, limiting temporal coverage to a decade.
• Conflicting last updated dates: Data.gov lists 2026-03 13 (likely metadata update), while NASA Earthdata lists 2012-04-08 (mission end).
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and detailed column structures are not provided across platforms.

Provenance

Source

European Space Agency (ESA) MERIS instrument on Envisat-1 satellite, hosted by NASA.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via a push-broom imaging spectroradiometer.

Time Range

2002-03 to 2012-04

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:37:58.169145 (Data.gov metadata update)

Geography

Global