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Depth of data provided
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2025 2:35 pm America/New_York
by atifa_nadeem
Kindly tell me Up to what depth does the MODIS Aqua satellite provide data for sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), and particulate organic carbon (POC) in the ocean?
in meters
Re: Depth of data provided
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2025 3:08 pm America/New_York
by OB.DAAC - SeanBailey
SST is a skin temperature, not a bulk temperature.
The products derived from the optical measurements (i.e. Rrs) do not have a defined depth. They are "surface" values, though the definition of surface is not set either, but is assumed to be equivalent to the first optical depth which varies with water mass. For example, in coastal waters with lots of optically active constituents (absorbs and scatterers), the first optical depth can be rather shallow (on the order of a few meters or even less). For clear, open ocean waters that can be on the order of 30 to 50 meters.
Hope this helps,
Sean