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

Long-term seasonal variations of chlorophyll a concentrations in ocean surface waters derived from MODIS (Aqua) satellite imagery. The dataset covers the entire Australian Exclusive Economic Zone and surrounding waters, including the southern ocean, from July 2002 to December 2017. It was produced using NASA's SeaDAS software and supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub.

Use Cases

• Modeling phytoplankton bloom cycles based on seasonal chlorophyll a concentrations.
• Assessing long-term ocean health trends in the Australian EEZ based on a 15-year satellite record.
• Studying the impact of seasonal climate patterns on marine primary productivity.
• Validating biogeochemical ocean models with satellite-derived chlorophyll a standard deviations.

Strengths

• Covers a 15-year time span from July 2002 to December 2017.
• Spatial extent includes the entire Australian EEZ and surrounding southern ocean waters.
• Data is derived from a consistent, well-established source (NASA MODIS Aqua) and processed with standard software (SeaDAS).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to the MODIS Aqua sensor's operational period.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, derived from NASA MODIS (Aqua) imagery.

Collection Method

Monthly chlorophyll a images were processed with NASA's SeaDAS software to calculate seasonal standard deviations.

Time Range

July 2002 to December 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 06:29:01.043734; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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