Decadal and spatially complete global surface chlorophyll-<i>a</i> data record from satellite and BGC-Argo observations

Ford, Daniel J.; Kulk, Gemma; Sathyendranath, Shubha; Shutler, Jamie D.

doi:10.5194/essd-18-569-2026

Articles | Volume 18, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-569-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-569-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 18, issue 1

Data description paper

|

21 Jan 2026

Data description paper |

| 21 Jan 2026

Decadal and spatially complete global surface chlorophyll-a data record from satellite and BGC-Argo observations

Daniel J. Ford, Gemma Kulk, Shubha Sathyendranath, and Jamie D. Shutler

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-569-2026-supplement

Data sets

Monthly gap filled Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) chlorophyll-a using BGC-Argo as an observational constraint D. J. Ford et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15689006

ESA Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (Ocean_Colour_cci): Version 6.0, 4 km resolution data S. Sathyendranath et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/5011D22AAE5A4671B0CBC7D05C56

Global Sea Ice Concentration Climate Data Record v3.0 - Multimission (3) OSI SAF https://doi.org/10.15770/EUM_SAF_OSI_0013

Argo float data and metadata from Global Data Assembly Centre (Argo GDAC) Argo https://doi.org/10.17882/42182#121877

Model code and software

JamieLab: Biogeochemical Argo wintertime gap filling approach D. J. Ford et al. et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15126352

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Short summary

Chlorophyll a is routinely monitored using ocean colour satellites, however, these data records have gaps. Here we present a methodology to provide a spatially and temporally complete chlorophyll-a record, using Biogeochemical Argo floats as a constraint on wintertime chlorophyll-a, and a statistical kriging approach to fill cloud gaps. Thereby, providing a complete record at monthly 0.25° resolution between 1997 and 2024, consistent to the underlying climate data record.