The Closed-Loop Ocean Simulation for Evaluation of ocean color retrieval algorithms (CLOSE) Model Input collection provides modeled remote sensing reflectance, inherent optical properties, phytoplankton community composition, and associated environmental variables derived from the NASA Ocean Biogeochemical Model coupled to the Ocean-Atmosphere Spectral Irradiance Model. These data serve as inputs to PyTOAST for simulating PACE OCI Level-1B observations and support end-to-end algorithm development, evaluation, and uncertainty analysis.

Geophysical variables in this suite include:

• Rrs — Remote sensing reflectance (sr⁻¹)
• a — Total absorption at selected wavelengths (m⁻¹)
• adg — Absorption due to colored dissolved and detrital material (m⁻¹)
• aph — Absorption due to phytoplankton (m⁻¹)
• bb — Total backscattering (m⁻¹)
• bbp — Particulate backscattering (m⁻¹)
• chlor_a — Total chlorophyll concentration (mg m⁻³)
• chlorophytes, coccolithophores, cyanobacteria, diatoms, dinoflagellates, and phaeocystis — Phytoplankton community components (mg m⁻³)
• cdom — Colored dissolved carbon (µmol L⁻¹)
• pic — Particulate inorganic carbon (mg m⁻³)
• dtc — Carbon-to-nitrogen detritus (µg C L⁻¹)
• nitrate and silicate — Dissolved nutrients (µmol L⁻¹)
• iron — Dissolved iron (nmol L⁻¹)
• mld — Ocean mixed-layer thickness (m)
• par — Photosynthetically active radiation (quanta m⁻² d⁻¹)
• salinity — Salinity (psu)
• temperature — Temperature (degrees Celsius)
• latitude, longitude, and wavelength — Spatial and spectral coordinates