Global Colored Dissolved Organic Matter from GCOM-C Satellite

Satellite-derived measurements of colored dissolved organic matter concentration in ocean surface waters, with a unit of m-1. The dataset is produced by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) from the SGLI sensor onboard the GCOM-C satellite, launched in December 2017. It provides 8-day binned global statistics at a spatial resolution of 1/24 degree.

Use Cases

• Modeling global ocean carbon cycles using the average (AVE) colored dissolved organic matter values.
• Assessing data quality and uncertainty for specific regions by analyzing the root-mean-square (RMS) and quality flag (QA_flag) fields.
• Identifying extreme events or anomalies in marine organic matter by examining the maximum (MAX) and minimum (MIN) value statistics.
• Tracing seasonal or interannual trends in dissolved organic matter using the 8-day binned time series and date of observation (Date) field.
• Evaluating sensor performance and data coverage for specific periods by checking the number of input data (Ninput) and number of used data (Nused) statistics.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage for each 8-day binned product.
• Provides multiple statistical measures per grid cell, including average, RMS, max, min, and data counts.
• Data is available at multiple temporal resolutions (1-day, 8-day, 1-month statistics).
• Product is at Version 3, indicating iterative processing improvements.

Limitations

• Specific row count, total file size, and exact temporal range are not provided in the description.
• Relies on satellite sensor retrievals which can be affected by cloud cover and atmospheric correction errors.
• The 1/24 degree spatial resolution (~4.6 km at equator) may be coarse for coastal or estuarine studies.

Provenance

Source

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Collection Method

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

Time Range

Coverage begins after the GCOM-C satellite launch on December 23, 2017; end date is unspecified.

Freshness

Update frequency is tied to satellite operations, with 8-day binned products likely generated continuously.

Geography

Global ocean coverage.