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Full catalog/PACE_OCI_L4M_MOANA_NRT
PACE_OCI_L4M_MOANA_NRT·v3.1·dataset

Types of tiny ocean plankton, near-real-time (PACE)

PACE OCI Level-4 Regional Mapped Multi-Ordination ANAlysis (MOANA), Near Real-time (NRT) Data, version 3.1
biosphere NASA OB_CLOUD Level 4 active netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Estimated abundances of three groups of tiny ocean plankton (Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, and picoeukaryotes), reported as cells per milliliter of seawater. This is a quick near-real-time version.

How it's made. Derived from ocean color seen by the OCI instrument on the PACE satellite (with sea surface temperature as a helper input), mapped over a region; fast processing means inputs are less than ideal.

How & where you'd use it. Studying ocean ecosystems and plankton biogeography over time and region, and checking ecosystem models. Accuracy can drop in murky coastal waters, so flags should be reviewed.

What's measured

Biological Classification › Bacteria/Archaea › Cyanobacteria (Blue-Green Algae)Biological Classification › ProtistsBiosphere › Ecosystems › Aquatic Ecosystems › Plankton › PhytoplanktonBiosphere › Ecosystems › Marine Ecosystems › Pelagic › Oceanic Zone

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2024-03-05 → ongoing
  • Measured byPACE (OCI)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map vegetation, forests and biomass
  • Monitor ecosystem productivity and carbon
  • Support habitat and biodiversity studies
Official description

The Ocean Biology DAAC produces near real-time (NRT) products using the best-available combination of ancillary data from meteorological and ozone data. As such, the inputs and the calibration used are less than optimal. Near real-time products provide a snapshot of the data during a short time period within a single orbit. The MOANA data suite provides picophytoplankton group abundances—Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, and picoeukaryotes—derived from ocean-color (with SST as ancillary input) and reported in cells mL⁻¹. Products can be used for time-series, regional biogeography, ecosystem assessments, and model evaluation. Note that retrieval accuracy can vary in optically complex coastal waters, so users should refer to flags and documentation when screening. Geophysical variables in this suite include: - picoeuk_moana — Cell abundance of picoeukaryotes (cells mL⁻¹) - prochlorococcus_moana — Cell abundance of Prochlorococcus (cells mL⁻¹) - synechococcus_moana — Cell abundance of Synechococcus (cells mL⁻¹)

Get the data

pace_oci_l4m_moana_nrt_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="PACE_OCI_L4M_MOANA_NRT",
    version="3.1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from OB_CLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.