The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) lidar dataset provides globally distributed measurements of ocean particulate backscattering coefficients at 532nm (bbp(532)), valuable for ocean biology and biogeochemistry research. These measurements originate from the CALIOP instrument aboard NASA’s Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission. CALIOP's lidar technology uniquely penetrates optically thin clouds and collects data during both day and night, enabling studies of diurnal ocean processes and observations in high-latitude regions challenging for passive ocean color sensors due to extreme solar zenith angles and polar darkness.
Historically, CALIOP ocean optical data have significantly contributed to scientific discoveries, including detecting diel vertical migrations of zooplankton from space (Behrenfeld et al., 2019), documenting annual phytoplankton cycles in polar regions (Behrenfeld et al., 2017), and identifying biases in satellite-derived ocean color products (Bisson et al., 2021). The dataset has undergone rigorous validation, demonstrating strong performance against in situ measurements (Bisson et al., 2021; Lacour et al., 2020; Vadakke-Chanat & Jamet, 2023).
Previously hosted on a university server, these ocean lidar data are now archived via NASA's Ocean Biology Distributed Active Archive Center (OB.DAAC), providing secure and reliable access. Hosting CALIOP data at OB.DAAC supports cohesive scientific approaches for current and future ocean lidar missions, including upcoming missions like PACE and potential dedicated ocean lidar platforms.
Providing access to CALIOP lidar bbp data through NASA OB.DAAC aims to facilitate scientific collaboration and advance oceanographic research worldwide.
This dataset is currently being archived by the NASA Ocean Biology Distributed Active Archive Center (OB.DAAC). Once the data become publicly available, detailed access instructions and download links will be provided in this section.
Behrenfeld, M. J., Hu, Y., Hostetler, C. A., Dall'Olmo, G., Rodier, S. D., Hair, J. W., & Trepte, C. R. (2013). Space‐based lidar measurements of global ocean carbon stocks. Geophysical Research Letters, 40(16), 4355-4360.
Behrenfeld, M. J., Hu, Y., O’Malley, R. T., Boss, E. S., Hostetler, C. A., Siegel, D. A., ... & Scarino, A. J. (2017). Annual boom–bust cycles of polar phytoplankton biomass revealed by space-based lidar. Nature Geoscience, 10(2), 118-122.
Behrenfeld, M. J., Gaube, P., Della Penna, A., O’malley, R. T., Burt, W. J., Hu, Y., ... & Doney, S. C. (2019). Global satellite-observed daily vertical migrations of ocean animals. Nature, 576(7786), 257-261.
Behrenfeld, M. J., Hu, Y., Bisson, K. M., Lu, X., & Westberry, T. K. (2022). Retrieval of ocean optical and plankton properties with the satellite Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) sensor: Background, data processing, and validation status. Remote Sensing of Environment, 281, 113235.
Bisson, K. M., Werdell, P. J., Chase, A. P., Kramer, S. J., Cael, B. B., Boss, E., ... & Behrenfeld, M. J. (2023). Informing ocean color inversion products by seeding with ancillary observations. Optics Express, 31(24), 40557-40572.
Bisson, K. M., Boss, E., Werdell, P. J., Ibrahim, A., Frouin, R., & Behrenfeld, M. J. (2021). Seasonal bias in global ocean color observations. Applied optics, 60(23), 6978-6988.
Bisson, K. M., Boss, E., Werdell, P. J., Ibrahim, A., & Behrenfeld, M. J. (2021). Particulate backscattering in the global ocean: a comparison of independent assessments. Geophysical research letters, 48(2), e2020GL090909.
Bisson, K. M., & Cael, B. B. (2021). How are under ice phytoplankton related to sea ice in the Southern Ocean?. Geophysical Research Letters, 48(21), e2021GL095051.
Lacour, L., Larouche, R., & Babin, M. (2020). In situ evaluation of spaceborne CALIOP lidar measurements of the upper-ocean particle backscattering coefficient. Optics Express, 28(18), 26989-26999.
Lu, X., Hu, Y., Yang, Y., Bontempi, P., Omar, A., & Baize, R. (2020). Antarctic spring ice-edge blooms observed from space by ICESat-2. Remote Sensing of Environment, 245, 111827.
Lu, X., Hu, Y., Yang, Y., Neumann, T., Omar, A., Baize, R., ... & Winker, D. (2021). New Ocean Subsurface Optical Properties From Space Lidars: CALIOP/CALIPSO and ATLAS/ICESat‐2. Earth and Space Science, 8(10), e2021EA001839.
Vadakke-Chanat, S., & Jamet, C. (2023). Validation protocol for the evaluation of space-borne lidar particulate back-scattering coefficient bbp. Frontiers in Remote Sensing, 4, 1194580.
