Nitrate Monitoring from Space
MEaSUREs program
Our research is part of NASA’s MEaSUREs program (Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments), an initiative dedicated to advancing Earth remote sensing and expanding our understanding of the Earth system. MEaSUREs supports the development of high-quality, consistent data products that inform scientific research, economic and policy decisions, and operational services that benefit society.
This project proposes the creation of two innovative global data products: Sea Surface Nitrate (SSN) and Nitrate-based New Production (NnP). These records are derived from NASA’s high-quality satellite observations of phytoplankton chlorophyll-a and sea surface temperature. Oceanic primary production is regulated largely by the availability of inorganic nitrogen, particularly nitrate, while new production represents the fraction of carbon fixed through photosynthesis that is exported to the ocean interior. By observing these processes from space, our work provides new insight into the coupling between ocean biology, carbon cycling, and climate variability on basin to global scales.
Earth System Data Record (ESDR)
Through this program, we have been selected to develop a new Earth System Data Record (ESDR)—a unified, coherent set of observations optimized to address key scientific questions about the Earth system. ESDRs are essential for assessing variability, identifying long-term trends, understanding environmental change, and providing critical inputs and validation for Earth system models.
