Ocean Color SeaWIFS Products

Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/CWP > CoastWatch Program, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of CommerceNASA/GSFC/ESED/GCDC/GES-DISC > Goddard Earth Sciences, Data and Information Services Center, Global Change Data Center, Earth-Sun Exploration Division, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA

Publication_Date: 19970904

Title: Ocean Color SeaWIFS Products

Edition:

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form:

Series_Information:

Series_Name:

Issue_Identification:

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place:

Publisher:

Other_Citation_Details:

Online_Linkage: http://www.class.noaa.gov/nsaa/products/search?sub_id=0&datatype_family=OC

Description:

Abstract:

ABSTRACT: NOAA CoastWatch produces near real-time ocean color products, e.g. chlorophyll-a concentration and turbidity (reflectance), with data from NASA's GeoEye's Orbview-2 satellite (via contractual purchase). The data is collected by selected HRPT ground stations. The level 1A data consists of raw radiance counts from eight bands (six in visible and two in near infrared spectrum), calibration data, navigation data, instrument telemetry and selected spacecraft telemetry. Each level 2 satellite specific product has unique characteristics dependent on the sensor and the algorithm applied. While level 2 historic data is open to the public, level 1 data is restricted to users covered by SeaWIFS CoastWatch contract due to limitations associated with commercial data. Users may find instructions on how to become registered users with SeaWIFS at http://coastwatch.noaa.gov/cw_faq.html#ocean%20color. CURRENTNESS REFERENCE: upon processing SPATIAL DATA ORGANIZATION INFORMATION Direct Spatial Reference: Raster Fees: Free for users covered by CoastWatch contract for online access. For delivery on physical media, users are responsible for the cost of the physical media and production and delivery of the product. PURPOSE: The purpose of SeaWiFS data is to examine oceanic factors that affect global change and to assess the oceans' role in the global carbon cycle, as well as other biogeochemical cycles, through a comprehensive research program. SeaWiFS data are being used to help clarify the magnitude and variability of chlorophyll and primary production by marine phytoplankton and to determine the distribution and timing of spring blooms, i.e., the time of highly abundant growth.

Purpose:

Not Available

Supplemental_Information:

Not Available

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 19970904

Ending_Date: Unknown

Currentness_Reference:Unknown

Status:

Progress: In Work

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed

Spatial_Domain:

Description_of_Geographic_Extent:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -160.0

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -60.0

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 65.0

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 8.0

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD SCIENCE PARAMETERS

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD PLATFORM

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD INSTRUMENT

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: PROJECT

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ANCILLARY KEYWORDS

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO TOPIC CATEGORY

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: DATA SET LANGUAGE

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > PIGMENTS > CHLOROPHYLL

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN OPTICS > OCEAN COLOR

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN OPTICS > TURBIDITY

Theme_Keyword: SEASTAR > ORBITAL SCIENCES CORPORATION ORBVIEW-2 SATELLITE

Theme_Keyword: SEAWIFS > SEA-VIEWING WIDE FIELD-OF-VIEW SENSOR

Theme_Keyword: ESIP > EARTH SCIENCE INFORMATION PARTNERS PROGRAM

Theme_Keyword: Concentration_of_chlorophyll_in_sea_water

Theme_Keyword: U.s. North-east Coast

Theme_Keyword: U.s. South-east Coast

Theme_Keyword: U.s. West Coast

Theme_Keyword: West Alaska

Theme_Keyword: Eastern Tropical Pacific

Theme_Keyword: South Alaska

Theme_Keyword: North Alaska

Theme_Keyword: Sitka, Alaska

Theme_Keyword: CLIMATOLOGY/METEOROLOGY/ATMOSPHERE

Theme_Keyword: OCEANS

Theme_Keyword: ENGLISH

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD

Place_Keyword: OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > CARIBBEAN SEA

Place_Keyword: OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > GULF OF MEXICO

Place_Keyword: OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN > BERING SEA

Place_Keyword: CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > GREAT LAKES

Place_Keyword: OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN > GULF OF ALASKA

Place_Keyword: OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > CENTRAL PACIFIC OCEAN > HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

Access_Constraints: ACCESS CONSTRAINTS: http://coastwatch.noaa.gov/cw_faq.html#ocean%20color DISTRIBUTION LIABILITY: Disclaimer - While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.

Use_Constraints:

Publications of research results utilizing these data must acknowledge the SeaWiFS Project and the Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: HENG GU

Contact_Position: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: 5200 Auth Rd Rm 601

City: Camp Springs

State_or_Province: MD

Postal_Code: 20746

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (301) 763-8209 x 347

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: Heng.Gu@noaa.gov

Browse_Graphic:

Browse_Graphic_File_Name: http://coastwatch.noaa.gov/data/seawifs/browse/

Browse_Graphic_File_Description:

Browse images of SeaWIFS data provided by CoastWatch.

Browse_Graphic_File_Type: PNG

Data_Quality_Information:

Attribute_Accuracy:

Attribute_Accuracy_Report:

ATTRIBUTE ACCURACY REPORT: Ocean Color values are accurate to within 10 percent. NOAA CoastWatch performs validation of the data through buoy match-ups or other in situ measurements for adjusting processing algorithms as necessary. Chlorophyll values (.001 - 64.767 micrograms per liter) in GeoTIFFs are scaled to 1 to 100. The current turbidity product is the remote sensing reflectance for band 5 (555 nm). It provides a good measure of turbidity related to sediment over a range of water clarity and provides a measure of the sediment load in the water. (In oceanography, turbidity is a catch-all term for poor water clarity or visibility. Visibility, as measured with a Secchi disk, is influenced by absorption, but driven mostly by the sediment load. To confuse this issue, water clarity is based on the diffuse light attenuation, which is strongly influenced by absorption as well as scattering, and efforts are being made to determine attenuation coefficients for SeaWiFS.) Chlorophyll-related pigments have little influence on the reflectance at 555 nm. Because of the low absorption by water, band 5 is extremely sensitive to changes in sediment concentration. (Certain phytoplankton groups, such as coccolithophores, are highly scattering, so they produce strong signals in this band). Under extremely high pigment loads (especially dissolved pigments and detrital, non-algal, pigments), band 5 is less effective, because the absorption is a significant part of the signal, potential causing a reduction in the reflectance. Because of the low absorption by water, band 5 can "see" the bottom in relatively clear water. In very clear water, it can detect sand bottom in 20-30 m. In areas where turbidity events are common, the bottom signal would be the minimum reflectance observable. SeaWiFS band 6 (670 nm) is less sensitive to dissolved and detrital pigments, and does not detect the bottom in more than ~6 m, but does not provide the sensitivity of band 5 for clearer water. LOGICAL CONSISTENCY REPORT: Research and monitoring programs are generally interested in the live phytoplankton biomass and the suspended sediment concentration. The chlorophyll algorithms for SeaWiFS provide a relationship between SeaWiFS bands and standard measurements of chlorophyll for live phytoplankton biomass. For sediment concentrations, a measure of scatter provides the best information. At present, experimental backscattering algorithms exist, additional work needs to be done to validate these algorithms. As an alternative, using the remote sensing reflectance for bands that are most sensitive to scatter (and least sensitive to absorption), provides the best characterization of suspended sediments. Trials have been made of algorithms that determine backscatter. Ultimately, the calculated backscatter will be the best method of describing turbidity. Several factors determine water clarity: absorption due to live phytoplankton, absorption due to dissolved pigments, absorption due to detrital pigments, and scattering due to particulates (mostly inorganic sediments). COMPLETENESS REPORT: tbd HORIZONTAL POSITIONAL ACCURACY REPORT: Ocean Color products are generally within 1000 meters. LINEAGE/PROCESS STEP: PROCESS DESCRIPTION: NOAA obtains Level-1A data from GeoEye (formerly ORBIMAGE) and processes the data to Level-2 ocean products using NASA SeaDAS and NOAA algorithms. PROCESS DATE: Not complete

Logical_Consistency_Report:

Not Available

Completeness_Report:

Not Available

Lineage:

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Not Available

Process_Date: Unknown

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: DOC/NOAA/CLASS > Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship System, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce

Contact_Person: NOAA'S CLASS HELP DESK

Contact_Position: DATA CENTER CONTACT

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: 151 Patton Avenue

City: Asheville

State_or_Province: NC

Postal_Code: 28801-5001

Country: USA

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: info@class.noaa.gov

Resource_Description: ______OC ____

Distribution_Liability:

Not Available

Standard_Order_Process:

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: HDF HDF4.1r4

Format_Name: GIF

Format_Name: GIF thumbnail

Format_Name: TIFF

Format_Name: TIFF thumbnail

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://www.class.noaa.gov/

Access_Instructions:

DATA CENTER URL

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://www.class.noaa.gov/nsaa/products/search?sub...

Access_Instructions:

Download options for Ocean Color Products.

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nmmrview/xmls/xml-to-text...

Access_Instructions:

View Source Metadata document from the Metadata Manager and Repository (NMMR).

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://coastwatch.noaa.gov/seawifs_ocolor_overview...

Access_Instructions:

Information about the Ocean Color Products from SeaWIFS sensor provided by NOAA Coastwatch Program.

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/SeaWiFS/

Access_Instructions:

Information about the SeaWIFS Project provided by Goddard Space Flight Center at NASA.

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://www.class.noaa.gov/nsaa/products/search?sub...

Access_Instructions:

Information about Ocean Color Products.

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://www.class.noaa.gov/nsaa/products/search?sub...

Access_Instructions:

Search Ocean Color Product datasets.

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/guides/GSFC/guide/SeaWiF...

Access_Instructions:

Describes SeaWIFS Level 1A and Level 2 HDF dataset.

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/DOCS/SeaWiFS_Level...

Access_Instructions:

Describes the specifications of the SeaWiFS Level-1A archive products.

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi/tech_memo.pl

Access_Instructions:

Links to online documents of the SeaWIFS Project Prelaunch Technical Report Series.

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi/postlaunch_tec...

Access_Instructions:

Links to online documents of the SeaWIFS Project Postlaunch Technical Report Series.

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/FGDC-standa...

Access_Instructions:

The purpose of this standard is to provide extensions to the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata for describing geospatial data obtained from remote sensing.

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/SeaWiFS/SEASTAR/SP...

Access_Instructions:

Information about SeaWIFS sensor and Orbview-2 satellite.

Fees: Please See Summary

Fees: Please See Summary

Fees: Please See Summary

Fees: Please See Summary

Fees: Please See Summary

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20081007

Metadata_Review_Date: 20111102

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: ANNA MILAN

Contact_Position: DIF AUTHOR

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: 325 Broadway, Mail Code E/GC4

City: Boulder

State_or_Province: CO

Postal_Code: 80305-3328

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (303) 497-5099

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (303) 497-6513

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: Anna.Milan@noaa.gov

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Metadata_Time_Convention: local time