MODIS Derived Chlorophyll a Seasonal Means for Australian Waters

The MODIS Derived Chlorophyll a dataset provides long-term seasonal means of ocean surface chlorophyll a concentrations. It is derived from NASA MODIS (aqua) satellite imagery processed with SeaDAS software, covering July 2002 to December 2017. This research is supported by the Australian National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub.

Use Cases

• Analyze seasonal phytoplankton bloom patterns based on chlorophyll a concentrations.
• Model ocean primary productivity changes over time based on the 15-year satellite record.
• Assess marine ecosystem health in the Australian EEZ based on surface water chlorophyll levels.
• Validate ocean biogeochemical models using satellite-derived chlorophyll a seasonal averages.

Strengths

• Derived from NASA's MODIS satellite sensor, a standard source for ocean color data.
• Covers a 15-year time series from July 2002 to December 2017.
• Spatial extent includes the entire Australian Exclusive Economic Zone and surrounding waters.
• Data represents seasonal means calculated for the four austral seasons.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Freshness should be verified; the data range ends in 2017.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data_gov_au.

Collection Method

Derived from MODIS (aqua) satellite images using NASA's SeaDAS image processing software.

Time Range

July 2002 to December 2017.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 07:41:13.393704; data covers up to December 2017.

Geography

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