MODIS Chlorophyll a Seasonal Variations in Australian Waters, 2002-2017

Monthly MODIS satellite images from July 2002 to December 2017 were processed to calculate chlorophyll a concentration standard deviations for austral seasons across the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone. The dataset measures long-term seasonal variations in ocean surface water chlorophyll a, derived using NASA's SeaDAS software. This research was supported by Australia's National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub.

Use Cases

• Analyze phytoplankton bloom seasonality based on chlorophyll a concentration variations
• Model ocean primary productivity based on satellite-derived chlorophyll a data
• Assess long-term trends in marine ecosystem health based on a 15-year time series
• Study spatial patterns of chlorophyll a across the Australian EEZ and Southern Ocean

Strengths

• 15-year time series from July 2002 to December 2017 provides a long-term record
• Covers the entire Australian Exclusive Economic Zone and surrounding waters, including the Southern Ocean
• Derived from MODIS (Aqua) satellite imagery using NASA's standardized SeaDAS processing software

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

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 2026-06-16 21:15:13.868605; freshness should be verified

Geography

Australian Exclusive Economic Zone and surrounding waters, including the Southern Ocean