Global Daily Satellite Observations of Colored Dissolved Organic Matter

Daily global maps of colored dissolved organic matter concentration in ocean surface waters, derived from the SGLI sensor on Japan's GCOM-C satellite. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) produces this Level 3 binned product, which reduces spatial resolution to 1/24 degree with statistical processing over one-day periods. The satellite, launched in December 2017, provides long-term observations for climate system variables.

Use Cases

• Modeling global ocean carbon fluxes using the colored dissolved organic matter concentration field (unit m-1).
• Analyzing spatial and temporal trends in coastal water quality via the daily binned average (AVE) and quality flag (QA_flag) statistics.
• Validating biogeochemical ocean models by comparing against the root-mean-square (RMS), maximum (MAX), and minimum (MIN) value statistics for uncertainty assessment.
• Studying phytoplankton dynamics and marine ecosystem health by correlating dissolved organic matter with other satellite-derived ocean color products.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage generated for each observation day.
• Includes multiple statistical measures per bin: average, RMS, max, min, and data counts (Ninput, Nused).
• Data is available at three temporal resolutions: 1-day, 8-day, and 1-month statistics.
• Product is derived from a sensor with a wide swath (1150-1400 km), supporting frequent global observation.

Limitations

• Specific sample size (number of global grid cells or raw observations) is not provided in the description.
• Potential for data gaps due to cloud cover or sensor limitations is not quantified.
• The description notes multiple product versions (Version 3 and Version 2), which may introduce consistency challenges for long-term studies.

Provenance

Source

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Collection Method

Derived from Level 1B and Level 2 products from the SGLI sensor onboard the GCOM-C satellite, statistically processed (binned) in time and space.

Time Range

From the satellite's launch date (December 23, 2017) onward.

Freshness

Daily product generation; satellite launched in December 2017, providing data from that period onward.

Geography

Global coverage.