CoastWatch OBIS Indicator Explorer

The CoastWatch OBIS Indicator Explorer (developed by J. Trinanes, NOAA CoastWatch) provides a server-side approach for extracting co-located satellite remote sensing products, gridded numerical model results, and field observations — including records from OBIS, NCEI, and Seascapes — for any user-defined polygon.

Rather than requiring users to download and align large satellite datasets locally, the tool does the heavy lifting on the server and returns pre-processed, co-located data for the target area. This makes it practical to generate biodiversity indicators for coastal management units, marine protected areas, EEZ boundaries, or any custom region.

Inputs and outputs

• Satellite products: SST, chlorophyll-a, CDOM, and other VIIRS/MODIS-derived variables
• Gridded models: numerical oceanographic model outputs (velocity, mixed layer depth, etc.)
• Field observations: species occurrence records from OBIS and NCEI
• Seascapes: dynamic habitat classification layer from MBON

For each polygon, the tool returns co-located time series that can be used directly for indicator development, species distribution modeling, or condition reporting.