A long-term VIIRS-derived dataset of chlorophyll-a, suspended particulate matter, and Secchi disk depth for lakes in China (2012–2025)

Derived from the Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20 Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) observations spanning from 2012 to 2025, this dataset is designed to support limnological research, hydrological modeling, and the assessment of inland water responses to climate change and anthropogenic activities.VariablesThe dataset contains three core optical and biogeochemical parameters:Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration (Units: mg m⁻³), indicating phytoplankton biomass and trophic state.Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) concentration (Units: g m⁻³), representing water turbidity and sediment dynamics.Secchi Disk Depth (Zsd) (Units: m), serving as a proxy for water clarity and optical attenuation.Spatial Extent: Lakes with a surface area ≥ 10 km² in China.Dynamic Masking: To account for winter ice-cover constraints, spatial bounding masks were dynamically applied.

A comprehensive national lake shapefile was utilized for the non-ice season (May–October), while an eastern-region shapefile was applied for the winter season to minimize data gaps and invalid retrievals over frozen surfaces.Data Records and File Formats For maximum interoperability and accessibility, the monthly outputs are provided in two standard formats:NetCDF4-CF (.nc): Highly compressed (ZLIB) files equipped with fully self-describing metadata (Global and Variable attributes), optimized for programmatic access (e.g., Python, R) and large-scale climate analysis.NoData Value: Invalid pixels (due to cloud cover, ice mask, or out-of-bounds) are consistently flagged with -32767.0.