Sentinel-3 OLCI: Daily Coastal Water Reflectance for Australia

CSIRO's FUB-CSIRO Coastal Water Processor generates this daily, reprojected Level 2P spectral reflectance product from Sentinel-3 OLCI imagery at approximately 1000-meter resolution. The dataset includes multiple quality flag layers for pre-masking and control, derived using nearest neighbor resampling onto a regular grid. Its primary application is for monitoring Australian coastal waters under the eReefs Phase 5 initiative.

Use Cases

• Monitoring coastal water quality based on spectral remote sensing reflectance.
• Assessing phytoplankton dynamics using above-water reflectance data.
• Validating hydrodynamic and biogeochemical models (e.g., eReefs) with satellite-derived products.
• Applying quality control for remote sensing analysis using the provided Level 1 and algorithm flags.

Strengths

• Produced by a reputable scientific organization (CSIRO) with a documented algorithm (DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2021.112848).
• Includes multiple, detailed quality flag layers (Level 1 and in/out-of-range flags) for data control.
• Available on multiple platforms, indicating established use and importance.

Limitations

• Critical metadata (row count, file size, license, author, specific columns) is missing from all provided sources.
• The spatial resolution is reduced (~1000m), limiting analysis to broader coastal features rather than fine-scale processes.
• The 'last updated' metadata shows two different dates (2026-04-10 and 2026-03-21), indicating potential synchronization issues.

Provenance

Source

CSIRO under the eReefs Phase 5 project.

Collection Method

Derived from Sentinel-3 OLCI Level 2 geophysical quantities using the FUB-CSIRO Coastal Water Processor, reprojected via nearest neighbor resampling.

Time Range

Daily product; specific date range not provided.

Freshness

Last updated metadata shows dates in 2026 (April 10 and March 21).

Geography

Australia, specifically coastal waters.