Chlorophyll a algorithms for oligotrophic oceans: A novel approach based on three‐band reflectance difference

A new empirical algorithm is proposed to estimate surface chlorophyll a (Chl) concentrations in the global ocean for Chl ≤ 0.25 mg m −3 (∼78% of the global ocean area). The algorithm is based on a color index (CI), defined as the difference between remote‐sensing reflectance ( R rs , sr −1 ) in the green and a reference formed linearly between R rs in the blue and red. For low‐Chl waters, in situ data showed a tighter (and therefore better) relationship between CI and Chl than between traditional band ratios and Chl, which was further validated using global data collected concurrently by ship‐borne and Sea‐viewing Wide Field‐of‐view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer…