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Water Quality Data Access and Tools

From discovery to visualization, data tools such as Earthdata Search, Panoply, and SeaDAS guide users in making the most of water quality data.

Water Quality Datasets

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Dataset Version Platforms Instruments Temporal Extent Spatial Extent Spatial Resolution Data Format
CYGNSS L3 Ocean Microplastic Concentration V1.0 1.0 CYGNSS DDMI 2017-04-02 to 2018-09-25

N: 37.125 S: -37.125 E: 180 W: -180

0.25 Decimal Degrees x 0.25 Decimal Degrees netCDF-4
CYGNSS Level 3 Ocean Microplastic Concentration Version 3.2 3.2 CYGNSS DDMI 2018-08-01

N: 37.4 S: -37.4 E: 180 W: -180

0.25 Decimal Degrees x 0.25 Decimal Degrees netCDF-4
ENVISAT MERIS Regional Binned Inland Waters (ILW) Data, version 5.0 5.0 ENVISAT MERIS 2002-03-21 to 2012-05-09

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

netCDF-4
ENVISAT MERIS Regional Inland Waters (ILW) Data, version 5.0 5.0 ENVISAT MERIS 2002-03-21 to 2012-05-09

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

netCDF-4
ENVISAT MERIS Regional Mapped CyAN Project, True Color (TC) Data, version 6.0 6.0 ENVISAT MERIS 2002-03-21 to 2012-05-09

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

netCDF-4
ENVISAT MERIS Regional Mapped Cyanobacteria Index (CI) Data, version 6.0 6.0 ENVISAT MERIS 2002-03-21 to 2012-05-09

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

netCDF-4
ENVISAT MERIS Regional Mapped Inland Waters (ILW) Data, version 5.0 5.0 ENVISAT MERIS 2002-03-21 to 2012-05-09

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

netCDF-4
Merged Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B OLCI Regional Binned Inland Waters (ILW) Data, version 5.0 5.0 Sentinel-3A, Sentinel-3B OLCI 2016-04-25 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

netCDF-4
Merged Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B OLCI Regional Mapped CyAN Project, True Color (TC) Data, version 6.0 6.0 Sentinel-3A, Sentinel-3B OLCI 2016-04-25 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

netCDF-4
Merged Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B OLCI Regional Mapped Cyanobacteria Index (CI) Data, version 6.0 6.0 Sentinel-3A, Sentinel-3B OLCI 2016-04-25 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

netCDF-4
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Featured Water Quality Observation Method: PACE

NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) platform measures the distribution of phytoplankton, a key indicator of ocean health. Aboard PACE is the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), a highly advanced optical spectrometer used to measure substances or particles present in seawater such as chlorophyll, a green pigment found in most phytoplankton species. Monitoring global chlorophyll and phytoplankton distribution and abundance help us better understand water quality and the complex systems that drive ocean ecology.
Learn More About PACE
This is an image showing simulated chlorophyll concentrations in the ocean on March 21, 2022. The image has a black background. Regions colored in blue represent areas of low chlorophyll concentration, green are medium, and red areas have high levels. The image has strips of black running through the colored areas from the upper left to the lower right to show PACE’s orbital track around the globe and places across the ocean where it has not scanned.

Preparing for PACE Data

Simulated data help Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) users prepare a day in the life of the new satellite.
6 MIN READ
This rectangular image shows phytoplankton levels along Florida and the East Coast of the United States, the Bahamas, and Cuba. Land is colored in muted shades of brown and green, water is dark blue, and snow is white. Nearshore are bands of light to dark green depicting picoeukaryote organism levels. Further out to sea are regions in variations of light blue showing the presences of prochlorococcus cyanobacteria.

New PACE Data Tutorials

A series of Jupyter notebook tutorials show how to retrieve and use data from NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission.

Water Quality Data Tools

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Tool Description Services
CASEI The Catalog of Archived Suborbital Earth Science Investigations (CASEI) is a comprehensive inventory of contextual information for NASA's Earth Science airborne and field campaigns. Search and Discovery, Cataloging
CyAN File Search The CyAN File Search tool allows users to choose an area over the continental United States and Alaska to retrieve cyanobacteria datasets archived by the Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN) project. Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization
CyFi Explorer CyFi Explorer enables users to view corresponding Sentinel-2 satellite imagery for each cyanobacteria estimate, and estimate cyanobacteria density. Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization
Panoply Panoply is a cross-platform application that plots geo-referenced and other arrays from netCDF, HDF, GRIB, and other datasets. Visualization, Customization, Reformatting, Subsetting, Comparison
STREAM STREAM is a rapid water quality monitoring tool that processes satellite imagery to create maps showing chlorophyll-a, Total Suspended Solids, and water clarity at 20-30 meter resolution. Processing
SHOWING 5 OF 5

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