Ocean Buoy Photosynthetically Active Radiation Data from West Coast Canada

PAR data originates from optical sensors on two of 17 meteorological ODAS buoys deployed along Canada's west coast. The dataset is managed by the OB_DAAC organization for the Canadian federal departments of Environment and Fisheries and Oceans. A referenced publication from 1999 provides foundational methodology.

Use Cases

• Modeling phytoplankton growth by analyzing PAR levels in relation to ocean temperature and salinity.
• Calibrating satellite ocean color measurements using in-situ PAR observations from fixed buoy locations.
• Studying coastal light climate variability at specific sites like Halibut Bank and Saanich Inlet.
• Investigating relationships between meteorological conditions and underwater irradiance for ecosystem health assessment.

Strengths

• Data is sourced from a network of 17 established meteorological buoys, indicating systematic collection.
• Provides specific, in-situ measurements for two distinct coastal locations (buoy 46146 and 46134).
• Methodology is supported by peer-reviewed research (Gower et al., 1999).

Limitations

• Column names and the exact row count or dataset size are not specified on any platform.
• Conflicting license information: one source lists 'other-license-specified', another lists 'None'.
• Specific temporal coverage (start/end dates) for the data records is not provided.

Provenance

Source

OB_DAAC organization, collecting data for Canadian federal departments (Environment, Fisheries and Oceans).

Collection Method

Measured by optical sensors installed on Ocean Data Acquisition System (ODAS) buoys.

Time Range

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Freshness

2026-03-12 22:51:46.531790

Geography

West coast of Canada, specifically Halibut Bank (buoy 46146) and Saanich Inlet near the Institute of Ocean Sciences (buoy 46134).