What is MARSPEC?
MARSPEC is a set of high resolution climatic and geophysical spatial data layers for the world ocean. It is comprised of seven geophysical and ten "bioclimatic" data layers that should be useful to those interested in the spatial ecology of shallow-water and surface-associated pelagic marine organisms across the globe. The geophysical variables were derived from the SRTM30_PLUS high resolution bathymetry dataset. These layers characterize the horizontal orientation (aspect), slope, and curvature of the seafloor and the distance from shore. The “bioclimatic” variables were derived from NOAA’s World Ocean Atlas and NASA’s MODIS satellite imagery and characterize the inter-annual means, extremes, and variances in sea surface temperature and salinity. All variables are available as ESRI raster grids at a 30 arc-second spatial resolution (also known as “1 km” grids) and use a common land mask. The MARSPEC Ocean Climate Database is a scientific data product and not affiliated with any corporate entity bearing the same name or acronym.
MARSPEC is a set of high resolution climatic and geophysical spatial data layers for the world ocean. It is comprised of seven geophysical and ten "bioclimatic" data layers that should be useful to those interested in the spatial ecology of shallow-water and surface-associated pelagic marine organisms across the globe. The geophysical variables were derived from the SRTM30_PLUS high resolution bathymetry dataset. These layers characterize the horizontal orientation (aspect), slope, and curvature of the seafloor and the distance from shore. The “bioclimatic” variables were derived from NOAA’s World Ocean Atlas and NASA’s MODIS satellite imagery and characterize the inter-annual means, extremes, and variances in sea surface temperature and salinity. All variables are available as ESRI raster grids at a 30 arc-second spatial resolution (also known as “1 km” grids) and use a common land mask. The MARSPEC Ocean Climate Database is a scientific data product and not affiliated with any corporate entity bearing the same name or acronym.
