Global maps of Forel-Ule index, hue angle and Secchi disk depth derived from 21 years of monthly ESA Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative data

We document the development and public release of a new dataset (1997-2018), consisting of global maps of the Forel-Ule index, hue angle and Secchi disk depth. Source data come from the European Space Agency (ESA) Ocean Colour (OC) Climate Change Initiative (CCI), which is providing merged multi-sensor data from the mid-resolution sensors in operation at a specific time from 1997 to the present day. Multi-sensor satellite datasets are advantageous tools for ecological studies because they increase the probabilities of cloud-free data over a given region as data from multiple satellites whose overpass times differ by a few hours are combined. Moreover, data-merging from heritage and present satellites can expand the duration of the time series indefinitely, which allows the calculation of significant trends. Additionally, data are remapped consistently and analysis-ready for scientists. Also, the products described in this article have the exclusive advantage of being linkable to in situ historic observations and thus enabling the construction of very long time series. Monthly data are presented at a spatial resolution of similar to 4km at the Equator and are available at PANGAEA (https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.904266; Pitarch et al., 2019a). Two smaller and easier-to-handle test datasets have been produced from the former: a global dataset at 1 degrees spatial resolution and another one for the North Atlantic at 0.25 degrees resolution. The computer code for the generation of the Forel-Ule index, hue angle and Secchi disk depth from a given remote-sensing reflectance is also shared at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4439646 (Pitarch et al., 2021) and can be easily set in loop mode for batch calculations.

Automated summary

This study documents the development and public release of a new dataset from ESA's OC Climate Change Initiative, providing global maps of the Forel-Ule index, hue angle and Secchi disk depth. The use of multi-sensor satellite datasets enhances data quality and extends time series, presenting monthly data at a spatial resolution of 4km available on PANGAEA.