A Decade of Satellite Ocean Color Observations

After the successful Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS, 1978-1986) demonstration that quantitative estimations of geophysical variables such as chlorophyll a and diffuse attenuation coefficient could be derived from top of the atmosphere radiances, a number of international missions with ocean color capabilities were launched beginning in the late 1990s. Most notable were those with global data acquisition capabilities, i.e., the Ocean Color and Temperature Sensor (OCTS,Japan, 1996-1997), the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS, United States, 1997-present), two Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS, United States, Terra/2000-present and Aqua/2002-present), the Global Imager (GLI,…

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  National Aeronautics and Space Administration