Observing the Ocean Submesoscale with Enhanced-Color GOES-ABI Visible Band Data.

Ocean color remote sensing has long been utilized as a fundamental research tool in the oceanographic investigations of coupled biological-physical processes. Despite numerous technical advances in the application of space borne ocean-viewing radiometers, host satellite platforms in a polar-orbiting configuration often render the temporal frequency of sensor data acquisition insufficient for studies of ocean processes that occur within increasingly smaller space-time scales. Whereas geostationary ocean color missions are presently the exception (GOCI) rather than the rule, this paper presents a method to convolve ocean reflectance data obtained from contemporary ocean-viewing multispectral radiometers (VIIRS, OLCI) with spectrally-limited Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) data obtained from the GOES-R meteorological satellites. The method, Chromatic Domain Mapping (CDM), employs a colorimetry approach to visible range ocean reflectance data. The true color space is used as a frame-of-reference that is mapped by the dedicated yet temporally sparse ocean color sensors; coincident and spectrally coarse information from ABI is then used to estimate the evolution of the true color scene. The procedure results in very high resolution (~5 min) true color image sequences. Herein, example CDM applications of rapid frontal boundary evolution and feature displacement in the Gulf of Mexico are presented and future applications of this technique are discussed.

An underwater light attenuation scheme for marine ecosystem models.

Simulation of underwater light is essential for modeling marine ecosystems. A new model of underwater light attenuation is presented and compared with previous models. In situ data collected in Monterey Bay, CA. during September 2006 are used for validation. It is demonstrated that while the new light model is computationally simple and efficient it maintains accuracy and flexibility. When this light model is incorporated into an ecosystem model, the correlation between modeled and observed coastal chlorophyll is improved over an eight-year time period. While the simulation of a deep chlorophyll maximum demonstrates the effect of the new model at depth.