VIIRS ocean color research and applications

In this paper, we provide evaluations and assessments of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) ocean color products, including normalized water-leaving radiance spectra nL_w(λ) at VIIRS five spectral bands, chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a), water diffuse attenuation coefficients at the wavelength of 490 nm, K_d(490), and at the domain of photosynthetically available radiation (PAR), K_d(PAR). Specifically, VIIRS ocean color products derived from the NOAA Multi-Sensor Level-1 to Level-2 (MSL12) ocean color data processing system are evaluated and compared with in situ data from the Marine Optical Buoy (MOBY) and measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). In general, VIIRS ocean color products are matched well with MOBY in situ measurements, and are also consistent with those from MODIS-Aqua. Ocean color products were found to be highly sensitive to some operational sensor calibration issues. We have improved sensor calibration by combining the lunar calibration into the current calibration method. Here, the ocean color products based on the new sensor calibration are evaluated. Our results show that VIIRS is capable of providing high-quality global ocean color products in support of the scientific research and operational applications.