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Description

MERIS (Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) is a programmable, medium-spectral resolution, imaging spectrometer operating in the solar reflective spectral range. Fifteen spectral bands can be selected by ground command. The instrument scans the Earth's surface by the so called 'push-broom' method. Linear CCD arrays provide spatial sampling in the across-track direction, while the satellite's motion provides scanning in the along-track direction. MERIS is designed so that it can acquire data over the Earth whenever illumination conditions are suitable. The instrument's 68.5-degree field-of-view around nadir covers a swath width of 1150 km. This wide field of view is shared between five identical optical modules arranged in a fan shape configuration.

Version Description

Reprocessing of Ocean Color (OC) Datasets

Product Summary

Platforms
ENVISAT
Instruments
MERIS
Spatial Extent

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

Geographic Region
GLOBAL OCEAN
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2002-03-21 to 2012-05-09
Data Partner
Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG) ,
Ocean Biology Distributed Active Archive Center (OB.DAAC), Global Change Data Center, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/GCDC/OB.DAAC)
Concept ID
C3281778909-OB_CLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
206579
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Reflectance ,
Absorption ,
Scattering ,
Gelbstoff ,
Phytoplankton

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group. (2025). ENVISAT MERIS Level-3 Global Mapped Inherent Optical Properties (IOP) Data, version 2022.0 [Data set]. NASA Ocean Biology Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ENVISAT/MERIS/RR/L3M/IOP/2022.0 Date Accessed: 2025-12-14

Documents

Variables

Variables are a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior of something. For example, temperature and pressure are variables of the atmosphere. Parameters and variables can be used interchangeably. Variable level attributes provide individual information for each variable.

The Name in this table is the variable name. Fill value indicates missing or undefined data points in a variable. Valid range is the range of values the variable can store. Scale factor is used to increase or decrease the size of an object and can be used to correct for distortion. For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
adg_443 Absorption due to gelbstoff and detrital material at 443 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -30000 to 25000 9.9999997473788E-5
adg_s detrital and gelbstoff absorption spectral parameter for GIOP model m^-1 nm^-1 float32 -32767 0 to 5 N/A
adg_unc_443 Uncertainty in absorption due to gelbstoff and detrital material at 443 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 25000 9.9999997473788E-5
aph_443 Absorption due to phytoplankton at 443 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 25000 9.9999997473788E-5
aph_unc_443 Uncertainty in absorption due to phytoplankton at 443 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 25000 9.9999997473788E-5
a_413 Total absorption at 413 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 32000 9.9999997473788E-5
a_443 Total absorption at 443 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 32000 9.9999997473788E-5
a_490 Total absorption at 490 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 32000 9.9999997473788E-5
a_510 Total absorption at 510 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 32000 9.9999997473788E-5
a_560 Total absorption at 560 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 32000 9.9999997473788E-5
a_620 Total absorption at 620 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 32000 9.9999997473788E-5
a_665 Total absorption at 665 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 32000 9.9999997473788E-5
bbp_443 Particulate backscattering at 443 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 1999 4.9999998736894E-6
bbp_s backscattering spectral parameter for GIOP model m^-1 nm^-1 float32 -32767 -3 to 3 N/A
bbp_unc_443 Uncertainty in particulate backscatter at 443 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
bb_413 Total backscattering at 413 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
bb_443 Total backscattering at 443 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
bb_490 Total backscattering at 490 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
bb_510 Total backscattering at 510 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
bb_560 Total backscattering at 560 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
bb_620 Total backscattering at 620 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
bb_665 Total backscattering at 665 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
lat Latitude degrees_north float32 -999 -90 to 90 N/A
lon Longitude degrees_east float32 -999 -180 to 180 N/A
palette palette N/A uint8 N/A N/A N/A
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