VOL. 3: Calibration and Validation Plan for SeaWiFS.
Citation:
McClain, C.R., W.E. Esaias, W. Barnes, B. Guenther, D. Endres, S. Hooker, G. Mitchell,
and R. Barnes, 1992: Calibration and Validation Plan for SeaWiFS. NASA Tech. Memo.
104566, Vol. 3, S.B. Hooker and E.R. Firestone, Eds., NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, 41 pp.
The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) will be the first
ocean color satellite since the Nimbus-7 Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS), which
ceased operation in 1986. Unlike the CZCS, which was designed as a
proof-of-concept experiment, SeaWiFS will provide routine global coverage every
two days and is designed to provide estimates of photosynthetic pigment
concentrations of sufficient accuracy for use in quantitative studies of the
ocean's primary productivity and biogeochemistry. A review of the CZCS mission
is included that describes the limitations of that data set and provides
justification for a comprehensive SeaWiFS calibration and validation program.
To accomplish the scientific objectives of the mission, the sensor's calibration
must be constantly monitored, and robust atmospheric correction and bio-optical
algorithms must be developed. The plan incorporates a multi-faceted approach to
sensor calibration using a combination of vicarious (based on {\it in situ}
observations) and onboard calibration techniques. Because of budget constraints
and the limited availability of ship resources, the development of the
operational algorithms (atmospheric and bio-optical) will rely heavily on
collaborations with the Earth Observing Satellite (EOS), the Moderate Resolution
Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) oceans team, and projects sponsored by other
agencies, e.g., the United States Navy and the National Science Foundation
(NSF). Other elements of the plan include the routine quality control of input
ancillary data (e.g., surface wind, surface pressure, ozone concentration, etc., used
in the processing and the verification of the level-0 (raw) data to level-1
(calibrated radiances), level-2 (derived products) and level-3 (gridded and averaged
derived data) products.
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