WOOD was developed to be a comprehensive publicly-available oceanographic bio-optical database providing global coverage. It includes nearly 250 major data sources (including international contributions as well as US sources (e.g. NASA, NODC) of optics and chlorophyll profiles) and hold over 40 derived and measured physical properties of interest to optical oceanography, including Inherent and Apparent Optical Properties (IOPs and AOPs), pigments and nutrients, Secchi depths, along with co-located supporting parameters such as temperature and salinity.