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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Journal ArticleDOI
Sensor capability and atmospheric correction in ocean colour remote sensing
TL;DR: An overview of the state of the art in atmospheric correction algorithms is provided, recent advances are highlighted and the possible potential for hyperspectral data to address the current challenges is discussed.
Journal ArticleDOI
Aquatic color radiometry remote sensing of coastal and inland waters: Challenges and recommendations for future satellite missions
Colleen B. Mouw,Steven Greb,Dirk Aurin,Paul M. DiGiacomo,Zhongping Lee,Michael S. Twardowski,Caren Binding,Chuanmin Hu,Ronghua Ma,Timothy S. Moore,Wesley J. Moses,Susanne E. Craig +11 more
TL;DR: Aquatic color radiometry remote sensing of coastal and inland water bodies is of great interest to a wide variety of research, management, and commercial entities as well as the general public as mentioned in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI
Advantages of high quality SWIR bands for ocean colour processing: Examples from Landsat-8
TL;DR: In this article, Vanhellemont et al. presented the use of the high quality SWIR bands of the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat-8, launched in 2013, to extend their existing turbid water atmospheric correction to extremely turbid waters.
Journal ArticleDOI
An overview of approaches and challenges for retrieving marine inherent optical properties from ocean color remote sensing.
P. Jeremy Werdell,Lachlan I. W. McKinna,Emmanuel Boss,Steven G. Ackleson,Susanne E. Craig,Susanne E. Craig,Watson W. Gregg,Zhongping Lee,Stéphane Maritorena,Collin S. Roesler,Cecile S. Rousseaux,Cecile S. Rousseaux,Dariusz Stramski,James M. Sullivan,Michael S. Twardowski,Maria Tzortziou,Maria Tzortziou,Xiaodong Zhang +17 more
TL;DR: A synopsis of the current state of the art in the retrieval of core optical properties from satellite ocean color is presented and recommendations for future investment for upcoming missions whose instrument characteristics diverge sufficiently from heritage and existing sensors to warrant reassessing current approaches are made.
Journal ArticleDOI
Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) data processing for aquatic science applications: Demonstrations and validations
Nima Pahlevan,S. Sarkar,Bryan A. Franz,Sundarabalan V. Balasubramanian,Sundarabalan V. Balasubramanian,Jiaying He +5 more
TL;DR: The European Space Agency's Sentinel-2A mission with the MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) onboard was launched in 2015, initiating a new era in high-to-moderate-resolution (i.e., 10 to 60m) imaging of Earth's resources as discussed by the authors.
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