IMOS MODIS: Daily Ocean Colour and Sea Surface Temperature for Australian Waters

MODIS satellite data provides daily sea surface temperature and ocean colour measurements for waters around Australia. The dataset is produced by the Australian Ocean Data Network, with contemporary MODIS data production ceasing on 2024-12-26. This product matches the temporal and spatial extent of the Chl_oci ocean colour product.

Use Cases

• Modeling Net Primary Productivity variants based on combined sea surface temperature and optical property data.
• Analyzing contemporaneous relationships between sea surface temperature and water-leaving radiances for ocean colour studies.
• Studying marine environmental conditions around Australia using daily satellite-derived data.

Strengths

• Data provides contemporaneous measurements of sea surface temperature and water-leaving radiances, enabling combined analysis.
• The product has a matching cloud mask for both sea surface temperature and optical property data.
• Dataset matches the Chl_oci product in temporal and spatial extent, ensuring consistency for related studies.

Limitations

• This is not a GHRSST-quality product; demanding applications requiring high accuracy should use IMOS GHRSST products.
• Production of contemporary MODIS data ceased at 2024-12-26, limiting temporal coverage for recent studies.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data_gov_au.

Collection Method

Derived from MODIS satellite bands 31 and 32 according to a published algorithm.

Time Range

Covers period up to 2024-12-26, when contemporary MODIS data production ceased.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 07:02:20.271449; freshness should be verified as contemporary data production has ceased.

Geography

Covers waters around Australia.