Satellite-based estimates of downwelling solar radiation in the 400–700 nm range available for photosynthesis at the ocean surface. The data quantifies daily or instantaneous usable light energy in moles of photons m⁻² and is produced by NASA's OB_CLOUD organization. It is used to estimate marine primary production and interpret phytoplankton bloom dynamics.
Use Cases
- Estimate marine primary production based on daily photosynthetically available radiation.
- Interpret phytoplankton bloom dynamics based on light energy availability.
- Provide context for optical and biogeochemical measurements based on satellite-derived PAR.
- Support ecosystem models of light–biology interactions in the ocean.
Strengths
- Provides a specific geophysical variable (par) measured in mol photons m⁻² d⁻¹.
- Derived from the Terra MODIS satellite sensor, a well-established source of Earth observation data.
- Covers a global spatial scale relevant for oceanographic studies.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Data may reflect geographic or temporal bias inherent to satellite coverage from nasa_earthdata.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA OB_CLOUD
- Collection Method
- Satellite-based estimates from the Terra MODIS sensor.
- Geography
- Global ocean surface