Satellite-based estimates of downwelling solar radiation in the 400–700 nm range available for photosynthesis at the ocean surface. The data quantifies daily usable light energy in moles of photons per square meter and is produced by NASA's OB_CLOUD organization. It is used to estimate marine primary production and interpret phytoplankton bloom dynamics.
Use Cases
- Estimate marine primary production based on daily photosynthetically available radiation.
- Interpret phytoplankton bloom dynamics based on satellite-derived light energy data.
- Provide context for optical and biogeochemical measurements based on PAR estimates.
- Support ecosystem models of light–biology interactions based on the quantified usable light energy.
Strengths
- Provides a specific geophysical variable (par) measured in mol photons m⁻² d⁻¹.
- Derived from satellite remote sensing, offering a global perspective.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count and temporal coverage are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Data may reflect geographic or temporal bias inherent to the satellite platform.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA's OB_CLOUD organization via the nasa_earthdata platform.
- Collection Method
- Satellite remote sensing from the PACE OCI instrument.
- Geography
- Global