Dynamic range and sensitivity requirements of satellite ocean color sensors: learning from the past
Chuanmin Hu,Lian Feng,Zhongping Lee,Curtiss O. Davis,Antonio Mannino,Charles R. McClain,Bryan A. Franz +6 more
TLDR
This study quantifies signal dynamic range and sensitivity parameters under uniform conditions for widely used past and current sensors in order to provide a reference for the design of future ocean color radiometers and to help design future missions such as the Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE) mission and the Pre-Aerosol-Clouds-Ecosystems (PACE) mission.Abstract:
Sensor design and mission planning for satellite ocean color measurements requires careful consideration of the signal dynamic range and sensitivity (specifically here signal-to-noise ratio or SNR) so that small changes of ocean properties (e.g., surface chlorophyll-a concentrations or Chl) can be quantified while most measurements are not saturated. Past and current sensors used different signal levels, formats, and conventions to specify these critical parameters, making it difficult to make cross-sensor comparisons or to establish standards for future sensor design. The goal of this study is to quantify these parameters under uniform conditions for widely used past and current sensors in order to provide a reference for the design of future ocean color radiometers. Using measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer onboard the Aqua satellite (MODISA) under various solar zenith angles (SZAs), typical (L(sub typical)) and maximum (L(sub max)) at-sensor radiances from the visible to the shortwave IR were determined. The Ltypical values at an SZA of 45 deg were used as constraints to calculate SNRs of 10 multiband sensors at the same L(sub typical) radiance input and 2 hyperspectral sensors at a similar radiance input. The calculations were based on clear-water scenes with an objective method of selecting pixels with minimal cross-pixel variations to assure target homogeneity. Among the widely used ocean color sensors that have routine global coverage, MODISA ocean bands (1 km) showed 2-4 times higher SNRs than the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (Sea-WiFS) (1 km) and comparable SNRs to the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS)-RR (reduced resolution, 1.2 km), leading to different levels of precision in the retrieved Chl data product. MERIS-FR (full resolution, 300 m) showed SNRs lower than MODISA and MERIS-RR with the gain in spatial resolution. SNRs of all MODISA ocean bands and SeaWiFS bands (except the SeaWiFS near-IR bands) exceeded those from prelaunch sensor specifications after adjusting the input radiance to L(sub typical). The tabulated L(sub typical), L(sub max), and SNRs of the various multiband and hyperspectral sensors under the same or similar radiance input provide references to compare sensor performance in product precision and to help design future missions such as the Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE) mission and the Pre-Aerosol-Clouds-Ecosystems (PACE) mission currently being planned by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).read more
Citations
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Exploring the potential of Rayleigh-corrected reflectance in coastal and inland water applications: A simple aerosol correction method and its merits
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the uncertainties and applicability of Rayleigh-corrected reflectance (Rrc) in ocean color studies by using MODIS data covering a large area (almost the entire middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin and the YR Estuary) between 2002 and 2016.
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Spatio-temporal variation of the suspended sediment concentration in the Pearl River Estuary observed by MODIS during 2003–2015
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the spatio-temporal variability of the suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) using MODIS-Aqua Level-1B data.
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Using VIIRS/NPP and MODIS/Aqua data to provide a continuous record of suspended particulate matter in a highly turbid inland lake
TL;DR: This study used synchronous MODIS/Aqua and VIIRS/NPP data collected during 2012–2015 to evaluate the consistency of Rayleigh-corrected reflectance observations over Lake Hongze, and used recently developed algorithms based on R rc in the red band to estimate the concentrations of suspended particulate matter from MODIS-derived SPM products.
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Assessing the impact of illumination on UAV pushbroom hyperspectral imagery collected under various cloud cover conditions
J. Pablo Arroyo-Mora,Margaret Kalacska,Trond Løke,Daniel Schläpfer,Nicholas C. Coops,Oliver Lucanus,George Leblanc +6 more
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Remote Sensing Estimation of Lake Total Phosphorus Concentration Based on MODIS: A Case Study of Lake Hongze
TL;DR: A direct derivation algorithm for the TP estimation for the turbid lake is proposed and will provide a theoretical and practical reference for extending the optical remote sensing application and the TP empirical algorithm of Lake Hongze’s help for the local government management water quality.
References
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Retrieval of water-leaving radiance and aerosol optical thickness over the oceans with SeaWiFS: a preliminary algorithm
Howard R. Gordon,Menghua Wang +1 more
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