Terra MODIS Phytoplankton Carbon Concentration from NASA Ocean-Color Observations

Phytoplankton carbon concentration data derived from NASA's Terra MODIS satellite ocean-color observations. The dataset is produced by OB_CLOUD and is version 2022.0, indicating a specific algorithm release. It is designed for quantifying marine biomass and carbon stocks on a global scale.

Use Cases

• Quantifying global phytoplankton biomass and carbon stocks based on the derived carbon_phyto concentration.
• Assessing marine ecosystem productivity and change over time using the phytoplankton carbon data.
• Driving biogeochemical ocean models with satellite-based phytoplankton carbon inputs.
• Providing biological context alongside other environmental variables like chlorophyll, PAR, and SST mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data is derived from NASA's established Terra MODIS satellite mission.
• The dataset is a specific version (2022.0), implying a defined and reproducible algorithm.
• The description lists concrete typical uses, suggesting a clear application focus.
• Product documentation is referenced for algorithm details and flags.

Limitations

• The description notes mission-specific caveats, especially for optically complex coastal and inland waters.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

NASA Earthdata (platform) and OB_CLOUD (organization).

Collection Method

Derived from NASA Terra MODIS satellite ocean-color observations.

Time Range

Global binned data, but specific temporal coverage is unknown.

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

Global coverage.