AVW (Apparent Visible Wavelength) quantifies the spectral center of water-leaving reflectance across the visible range, reported in nanometers. The data is produced by the OB_CLOUD organization from NASA's PACE OCI instrument, providing a Level-3 global mapped product. It is used for water-type classification and guiding chlorophyll retrievals.
Use Cases
- Classify water types (e.g., oligotrophic vs. productive) based on the avw value.
- Select or blend chlorophyll-a retrieval algorithms using the avw feature as a guide.
- Detect regional changes in water optical properties by analyzing temporal trends in the avw geophysical variable.
- Provide context for other oceanographic parameters like chlor_a, Kd_490, IOPs, and PAR by correlating with the avw field.
Strengths
- Derived from NASA's PACE OCI instrument, a state-of-the-art ocean color sensor.
- Provides a global mapped (Level-3) product for synoptic analysis.
- Includes quality flags for cloud, glint, and aerosol conditions to aid data filtering.
Limitations
- Interpretations of the avw variable can be ambiguous in optically complex coastal and inland waters.
- Specific row count, temporal coverage, and spatial resolution are unknown from the provided description.
- Requires careful review of quality flags, which adds a preprocessing step for analysis.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA PACE OCI instrument, processed by OB_CLOUD.
- Collection Method
- Satellite remote sensing, derived from water-leaving reflectance (Rrs) spectra.
- Time Range
- null
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Global ocean coverage.