PACE OCI Level-3 Global Mapped Fluorescence Line Height (FLH) - Near Real-time (NRT) Data,

NASA's Ocean Biology DAAC produces near real-time Fluorescence Line Height (FLH) data quantifying red chlorophyll-a fluorescence from phytoplankton. The data suite provides a snapshot of ocean conditions within a single orbit, using the best-available ancillary meteorological and ozone data at the time of processing. FLH is widely used for detecting harmful algal blooms and identifying productive waters.

Use Cases

• Detect and track harmful algal blooms (HABs) based on elevated FLH values associated with active phytoplankton blooms.
• Identify productive ocean waters based on the quantified red chlorophyll-a fluorescence emitted by phytoplankton.
• Assess phytoplankton physiology and stress in different marine environments based on fluorescence line height measurements.
• Monitor near real-time ocean biological activity for operational forecasting based on data from single satellite orbits.

Strengths

• Provides near real-time (NRT) data, offering a timely snapshot of ocean conditions.
• Quantifies a specific geophysical variable (Normalized Fluorescence Line Height) useful for detecting phytoplankton activity.
• Data is produced by NASA's Ocean Biology DAAC, a recognized authority for ocean color data.

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.
• The NRT processing uses less-than-optimal ancillary data and calibration compared to final science products.

Provenance

Source

NASA Ocean Biology Distributed Active Archive Center (OB.DAAC), organization OB_CLOUD.

Collection Method

Derived from satellite measurements by the PACE OCI instrument, processed into Level-3 global mapped products.

Freshness

Near real-time (NRT), providing data from a short time period within a single orbit.

Geography

Global