Seasonal Chlorophyll-a Means from MODIS Satellite Imagery

Seasonal means of ocean surface chlorophyll-a concentrations derived from MODIS Aqua satellite images processed with NASA SeaDAS software. The dataset covers the entire Australian Exclusive Economic Zone and surrounding waters, including the southern ocean, for a 15-year period from July 2002 to December 2017. It was produced by the Australian Ocean Data Network with support from the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub.

Use Cases

• Analyze seasonal phytoplankton bloom patterns across austral seasons using winter, spring, summer, and autumn mean layers.
• Model long-term trends in chlorophyll-a concentration (mg/m3) within the Australian EEZ from 2002 to 2017.
• Assess spatial variability of ocean surface productivity in the southern ocean region covered by the dataset.
• Validate biogeochemical models with satellite-derived seasonal chlorophyll-a means for specific austral seasons.

Strengths

• 15-year temporal coverage from July 2002 to December 2017 provides a long-term baseline.
• Spatial extent covers the entire Australian EEZ and surrounding waters, including the southern ocean.
• Data derived from MODIS Aqua sensor using NASA's standardized SeaDAS processing software.

Limitations

• Specific row and column counts, sample size, and spatial resolution are unknown.
• Data is aggregated to seasonal means, losing monthly and daily temporal resolution.
• Temporal coverage ends in December 2017, making the dataset over 6 years old at time of cataloging.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub.

Collection Method

Derived from MODIS (Aqua) satellite images processed with NASA SeaDAS software; monthly images averaged into seasonal means.

Time Range

July 2002 to December 2017.

Freshness

Last platform update was April 2026, but underlying data range ends December 2017.

Geography

Australian Exclusive Economic Zone and surrounding waters, including the southern ocean.