This dataset is related to the article "Decadal changes in Arctic Ocean Chlorophyll a: bridging ocean color observations from the 1980s to present time" In Remote Sensing of Environment by Laurent Oziel, Philippe Massicotte, Marcel Babin and Emmanuel Devred. It provides the longest (but non-continuous) ocean color time-series ever produced for the Arctic Ocean (37 years long between 1979 and 2016). To achieve this time-series, the raw data from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View (SeaWiFS, 1998-2010) and the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS, 2003-2016) ocean-color sensors were re-processed to ensure compatibility with the first ocean color sensor, namely, the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS, 1979-1986). The dataset was carefully quality-controlled with a bio-regional approach. Despite the temporal gaps between 1986 and 1998 due to the absence of ocean color satellite, the time series (here delivered as climatologies) is suitable to establish a baseline of phytoplankton biomass for the early 1980s and to derive decadal change in Chlorophyll a.