For the Global ocean, the ESA Ocean Colour CCI surface Chlorophyll (mg m-3, 4 km resolution) using the OC-CCI recommended chlorophyll algorithm is made available in CMEMS format. Phytoplankton functional types (PFT) products provide daily chlorophyll concentrations of three size-classes, consisting of nano, pico and micro-phytoplankton. L3 products are daily files, while the L4 are monthly composites. ESA-CCI data are provided by Plymouth Marine Laboratory at 4km resolution. These are processed using the same in-house software as in the operational processing. Standard masking criteria for detecting clouds or other contamination factors have been applied during the generation of the Rrs, i.e., land, cloud, sun glint, atmospheric correction failure, high total radiance, large solar zenith angle (actually a high air mass cutoff, but approximating to 70deg zenith), coccolithophores, negative water leaving radiance, and normalized water leaving radiance at 555 nm 0.15 Wm-2 sr-1 (McClain et al., 1995). Ocean colour technique exploits the emerging electromagnetic radiation from the sea surface in different wavelengths. The spectral variability of this signal defines the so called ocean colour which is affected by the presence of phytoplankton. By comparing reflectances at different wavelengths and calibrating the result against in-situ measurements, an estimate of chlorophyll content can be derived. A detailed description of calibration & validation is given in the relevant QUID, associated validation reports and quality documentation.
