Sentinel-3B OLCI Level-3 Global Binned Remote-Sensing Reflectance Data

Remote sensing reflectance (RRS) data from the Sentinel-3B satellite's Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI). The data provides the ratio of water-leaving radiance to downwelling irradiance, measured at specific wavelength bands. This version 2022.0 dataset is a Level-3 global binned product, likely aggregated over time and space, and was informed by the U.S. Government's Satellite Needs Working Group.

Use Cases

• Retrieve chlorophyll-a concentration (chlor_a) based on remote sensing reflectance values.
• Calculate the diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490 nm (Kd_490) based on reflectance data.
• Derive inherent optical properties (IOPs) of water bodies based on spectral reflectance.
• Validate satellite-derived ocean color algorithms based on the foundational RRS observable.
• Monitor coastal and inland water quality based on reflectance data, after applying quality flags.

Strengths

• Provides the foundational observable (Rrs) for retrieving multiple ocean color products.
• Includes per-file quality flags for land, cloud, sun glint, and high aerosol, as mentioned in the description.
• Data collection was informed by an interagency U.S. Government working group dedicated to Earth observation needs.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic or temporal bias inherent to satellite coverage from nasa_earthdata.

Provenance

Source

OB_CLOUD

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing from the Sentinel-3B OLCI instrument.

Geography

Global