NOAA-21 VIIRS: Global Ocean Reflectance Data - Near Real-Time

NOAA-21 VIIRS Global Binned Remote-Sensing Reflectance (RRS) - NRT Data, version R2022.0 is a near real-time satellite product from NASA's Ocean Biology DAAC. It provides a quicklook snapshot of ocean color and optical properties during a short time period within a single orbit. The data is produced using the best-available ancillary meteorological and ozone data, though with less-than-optimal calibration inputs.

Use Cases

• Monitoring near real-time ocean color and phytoplankton activity based on remote-sensing reflectance data.
• Analyzing short-term aerosol distributions over oceans based on atmospheric optical data.
• Studying single-orbit snapshots of ocean-atmosphere interactions for rapid environmental assessment.

Strengths

• Produced by NASA's Ocean Biology DAAC, an authoritative source for oceanographic satellite data.
• Provides near real-time (NRT) data for rapid analysis of current conditions.
• Covers global spatial coverage for a comprehensive view of ocean optics.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data is labeled as 'quicklook' with less-than-optimal calibration and ancillary inputs.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ocean Biology DAAC

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the NOAA-21 VIIRS sensor, processed into binned reflectance products.

Time Range

Near real-time, covering short time periods within single orbits.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 20:16:39.154548; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global