Sentinel-3 OLCI EFR: Ocean and Land Color Instrument Earth Observation Full Resolution

  • The COPERNICUS/S3/OLCI dataset provides top of atmosphere radiances at 300m spatial resolution, covering the globe every ~2 days from October 18, 2016, to December 11, 2024.

  • Data is collected by the Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OLCI) on board the Sentinel-3 satellites, measuring sea-surface topography, temperature, and ocean and land color.

  • The dataset includes 21 spectral bands ranging from visible to near-infrared, along with quality flags indicating data validity and environmental conditions.

  • It is freely accessible via Google Earth Engine for research, education, and non-profit use under the Copernicus Sentinel Data Terms and Conditions.

  • Users can leverage the dataset for ocean forecasting, environmental monitoring, and climate studies by accessing it through the provided Earth Engine snippet and exploring further documentation.
COPERNICUS/S3/OLCI
Dataset Availability
2016-10-18T19:25:42Z–2025-10-03T08:14:33Z
Dataset Provider
Earth Engine Snippet
ee.ImageCollection("COPERNICUS/S3/OLCI")
Revisit Interval
2 Days
Tags
copernicus esa eu radiance satellite-imagery sentinel toa
olci

Description

The Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OLCI) Earth Observation Full Resolution (EFR) dataset contains top of atmosphere radiances at 21 spectral bands with center wavelengths ranging between 0.4µm and 1.02µm at spatial resolution of 300m with worldwide coverage every ~2 days.

OLCI is one of the instruments in the ESA/EUMETSAT Sentinel-3 mission for measuring sea-surface topography, sea- and land-surface temperature, ocean color and land color with high-end accuracy and reliability to support ocean forecasting systems, as well as environmental and climate monitoring.

The Sentinel-3 OLCI instrument is based on the optomechanical and imaging design of ENVISAT's MERIS. It is designed to retrieve the spectral distribution of upwelling radiance just above the sea surface (the water-leaving radiance).

OLCI observation is performed simultaneously in 21 spectral bands ranging from the visible to the near-infrared (400 to 1029 nm).

Bands

Pixel Size
300 meters

Bands

Name Units Scale Pixel Size Wavelength Description
Oa01_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.0139465 meters 400nm/15nm

Aerosol correction, improved water constituent retrieval
Oa02_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.0133873 meters 412.5nm/10nm

Yellow substance and detrital pigments (turbidity)
Oa03_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.0121481 meters 442.5nm/10nm

Chl absorption max., biogeochemistry, vegetation
Oa04_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.0115198 meters 490nm/10nm

High Chl, other pigments
Oa05_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.0100953 meters 510nm/10nm

Chl, sediment, turbidity, red tide
Oa06_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.0123538 meters 560nm/10nm

Chlorophyll reference (Chl minimum)
Oa07_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.00879161 meters 620nm/10nm

Sediment loading
Oa08_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.00876539 meters 665nm/10nm

Chl (2^nd Chl abs. max.), sediment, yellow substance/vegetation
Oa09_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.0095103 meters 673.75nm/7.5nm

For improved fluorescence retrieval and to better account for smile together with the bands 665 and 680nm
Oa10_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.00773378 meters 681.25nm/7.5nm

Chl fluorescence peak, red edge
Oa11_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.00675523 meters 708.75nm/10nm

Chl fluorescence baseline, red edge transition
Oa12_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.0071996 meters 753.75nm/7.5nm

O2 absorption/clouds, vegetation
Oa13_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.00749684 meters 761.25nm/7.5nm

O2 absorption band/aerosol correction
Oa14_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.0086512 meters 764.375nm/3.75nm

Atmospheric correction
Oa15_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.00526779 meters 767.5nm/2.5nm

O2A used for cloud top pressure, fluorescence over land
Oa16_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.00530267 meters 778.75nm/15nm

Atmospheric correction/aerosol correction
Oa17_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.00493004 meters 865nm/20nm

Atmospheric correction/aerosol correction, clouds, pixel co-registration
Oa18_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.00549962 meters 885nm/10nm

Water vapor absorption reference band. Common reference band with SLSTR instrument. Vegetation monitoring
Oa19_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.00502847 meters 900nm/10nm

Water vapor absorption/vegetation monitoring (max. reflectance)
Oa20_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.00326378 meters 940nm/20nm

Water vapor absorption, atmospheric/aerosol correction
Oa21_radiance W m^-2 sr^-1 µm^-1 0.00324118 meters 1029nm/40nm

Atmospheric/aerosol correction
quality_flags meters None

Quality flags

Image Properties

Image Properties

Name Type Description
SNAP_Graph_Processing_Framework_GPF_vers STRING

Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) version
SNAP_Raster_Operators_vers STRING

SNAP version
processing_facility_country STRING

Name of the country where the facility is located. This element is configurable within the IPF.
processing_facility_name STRING

Name of the facility where the processing step was performed. This element is configurable within the IPF.
processing_facility_organisation STRING

Name of the organisation responsible for the facility. This element is configurable within the IPF.
processing_facility_site STRING

Geographical location of the facility. This element is configurable within the IPF.
processing_hardware STRING

Name of the hardware in the facility used for the processing.
processing_software_name STRING

Name of the software component.
processing_software_version DOUBLE

The version or release identifier of the software
processing_time DOUBLE

The time the product was processed in 'epoch' format
product STRING

This is always OL_1_EFR__
PRODUCT_ID STRING

The full id of the original Sentinel-3 product
productQuality STRING

PASSED or empty
cycle_num DOUBLE

The cycle number is the number of times the satellite passed over the same geographical point on the ground. In the SENTINEL-3 operational phase (after launch and commissioning phases), the orbit cycle is 27 days.
orbitNumber DOUBLE

The absolute orbit number considers the orbits elapsed since the first ascending node crossing after launch.
relative_orbit_num DOUBLE

The relative orbit number is the orbit number within a cycle. Every time a cycle starts, the relative orbit number is reset to zero.
groundTrackDirection STRING

Direction of the trace made by the sub-satellite point on the surface of the Earth's reference ellipsoid due to the motion of the satellite along its orbit.
spacecraft STRING

Sentinel-3 spacecraft name: S3A, S3B
status STRING

Status of the file
timeliness STRING

Timeliness of processing being analysed
salineWaterPixelsPercent DOUBLE

Pixel quality information
coastalPixelsPercent DOUBLE

Pixel quality information
freshInlandWaterPixelsPercent DOUBLE

Pixel quality information
tidalRegionPixelsPercent DOUBLE

Pixel quality information
brightPixelsPercent DOUBLE

Pixel quality information
invalidPixelsPercent DOUBLE

Pixel quality information
cosmeticPixelsPercent DOUBLE

Pixel quality information
duplicatedPixelsPercent DOUBLE

Pixel quality information
dubiousSamplesPercent DOUBLE

Pixel quality information
saturatedPixelsPercent DOUBLE

Pixel quality information

Terms of Use

Terms of Use

The use of Sentinel data is governed by the Copernicus Sentinel Data Terms and Conditions.

Explore with Earth Engine

Code Editor (JavaScript)

var dataset = ee.ImageCollection('COPERNICUS/S3/OLCI')
                  .filterDate('2018-04-01', '2018-04-04');

// Select bands for visualization and apply band-specific scale factors.
var rgb = dataset.select(['Oa08_radiance', 'Oa06_radiance', 'Oa04_radiance'])
              .median()
              // Convert to radiance units.
              .multiply(ee.Image([0.00876539, 0.0123538, 0.0115198]));

var visParams = {
  min: 0,
  max: 6,
  gamma: 1.5,
};

Map.setCenter(46.043, 1.45, 5);
Map.addLayer(rgb, visParams, 'RGB');
Open in Code Editor
The Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OLCI) Earth Observation Full Resolution (EFR) dataset contains top of atmosphere radiances at 21 spectral bands with center wavelengths ranging between 0.4µm and 1.02µm at spatial resolution of 300m with worldwide coverage every ~2 days. OLCI is one of the instruments in the ESA/EUMETSAT …
COPERNICUS/S3/OLCI, copernicus,esa,eu,radiance,satellite-imagery,sentinel,toa
2016-10-18T19:25:42Z/2025-10-03T08:14:33Z
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