PACE OCI MOANA: Near Real-time Picophytoplankton Abundance from Ocean Color

NASA's Ocean Biology DAAC produces the PACE OCI Level-4 MOANA dataset, providing near real-time cell abundance estimates for three picophytoplankton groups. The data suite includes variables for Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, and picoeukaryotes, derived from ocean-color satellite observations with sea surface temperature as an ancillary input. Products are intended for time-series analysis, regional biogeography studies, ecosystem assessments, and model evaluation.

Use Cases

• Conduct time-series analysis of phytoplankton populations based on the near real-time data delivery.
• Study regional biogeography of picophytoplankton groups based on the mapped cell abundance variables.
• Perform ecosystem assessments based on the derived Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, and picoeukaryote abundances.
• Evaluate biogeochemical or ecological models based on the satellite-derived phytoplankton data.

Strengths

• Provides near real-time data products, offering a snapshot from a single orbit.
• Reports three specific phytoplankton group abundances (Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, picoeukaryotes) in cells per milliliter.
• Derived from ocean-color satellite data with sea surface temperature as an ancillary input.

Limitations

• The description notes that retrieval accuracy can vary in optically complex coastal waters.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

NASA Ocean Biology DAAC (OB_CLOUD)

Collection Method

Derived from PACE OCI satellite ocean-color observations with ancillary meteorological and ozone data.

Freshness

Near real-time (NRT)

Geography

Regional (coverage implied by 'Regional Mapped' in title, specific regions unknown)