Learn to Use Earth Data
About
Full catalog/PACE_SPEXONE_L3M_AER_RTAPOCEAN
PACE_SPEXONE_L3M_AER_RTAPOCEAN·v3.0·dataset

Ocean haze and water clarity read from polarized light, from SPEXone on PACE

PACE SPEXone Level-3 Global Mapped Ocean Properties, RemoTAP Algorithm Data, version 3.0
ocean NASA OB_CLOUD Level 3 active netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Properties of haze over the ocean and of the water itself, worked out from polarized light: how thick the haze is, what the particles are like in size and composition, plus ocean surface roughness and a chlorophyll estimate that hints at phytoplankton.

How it's made. Retrieved from the SPEXone polarized-light instrument on NASA's PACE satellite using an algorithm that solves the atmosphere and ocean together, then mapped globally.

How & where you'd use it. Used for studying airborne particles and climate, correcting ocean-color measurements, and evaluating models; often paired with other PACE instruments for cross-checks.

What's measured

Oceans › Ocean Optics › Ocean ColorAtmosphere › AerosolsAtmosphere › Aerosols › Aerosol Particle PropertiesOCEANS › OCEAN OPTICS › CHLOROPHYLL › CHLOROPHYLL CONCENTRATION

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2024-02-05 → ongoing
  • Measured byPACE (SPEXone)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Watch sea-surface temperature and marine heatwaves
  • Spot algal blooms and ocean-colour shifts
  • Support fisheries and coastal monitoring
Official description

This suite provides aerosol optical/microphysical properties retrieved over the oceans, along with coupled surface parameters used in the retrieval. The suite includes spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD), single-scattering albedo (SSA), complex refractive index (real/imaginary), size distribution metrics (e.g., fine/coarse effective radii and fine-mode fraction), and aerosol shape/fraction spherical; it also reports ocean surface roughness (glint/wind parameterization) and “ocean body” properties that define the water-leaving signal for consistency with the coupled atmosphere–ocean inversion. Use AER_RTAPOCEAN for aerosol-climate and air-quality studies, as aerosol context for ocean-color atmospheric correction, and for model evaluation and data assimilation; pair it with OCI/HARP2 products for cross-sensor analyses. Core geophysical variables in this suite include: The RemoTAP Level-3 Chlorophyll-a (Chla) product provides estimates of surface chlorophyll-a concentration, a commonly used proxy for phytoplankton biomass. Values are derived using the RemoTAP algorithm. In the current version, the variable is named chlor_a, with the long name “Chlorophyll-a concentration, OCI algorithm.” The variable and its long name will be updated in a future release to correctly reference the RemoTAP algorithm. Geophysical variable included: - chlor_a – Chlorophyll concentration (mg m⁻³)

Get the data

pace_spexone_l3m_aer_rtapocean_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="PACE_SPEXONE_L3M_AER_RTAPOCEAN",
    version="3.0",
    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.