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An Overview of the Seawifs Project and Strategies for Producing a Climate Research Quality Global Ocean Bio-Optical Time Series

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An Overview of the Seawifs Project and Strategies for Producing a Climate Research Quality Global Ocean Bio-Optical Time Series ARTICLE IN PRESS Deep-Sea Research II 51 (2004) 5–42 An overview of the SeaWiFS project andstrategies for producing a climate research quality global ocean bio-optical time series Charles R. McClain*, Gene C. Feldman, Stanford B. Hooker Code 970.2, Office for Global Carbon Studies, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA Received1 April 2003; accepted19 November 2003 Abstract The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Project Office was formally initiated at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in 1990. Seven years later, the sensor was launched by Orbital Sciences Corporation under a data- buy contract to provide 5 years of science quality data for global ocean biogeochemistry research. To date, the SeaWiFS program has greatly exceeded the mission goals established over a decade ago in terms of data quality, data accessibility andusability, ocean community infrastructure development,cost efficiency, andcommunity service. The SeaWiFS Project Office andits collaborators in the scientific community have madesubstantial contributions in the areas of satellite calibration, product validation, near-real time data access, field data collection, protocol development, in situ instrumentation technology, operational data system development, and desktop level-0 to level-3 processing software. One important aspect of the SeaWiFS program is the high level of science community cooperation andparticipation. This article summarizes the key activities andapproaches the SeaWiFS Project Office pursuedto define,achieve, and maintain the mission objectives. These achievements have enabledthe user community to publish a large andgrowing volume of research such as those contributedto this special volume of Deep-Sea Research. Finally, some examples of major geophysical events (oceanic, atmospheric, andterrestrial) capturedby SeaWiFS are presentedto demonstratethe versatility of the sensor. Publishedby Elsevier Ltd. 1. Introduction Planning activities (Ocean-color Science Working Group, 1982; Joint EOSAT/NASA SeaWiFS The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor Working Group, 1987) paralleledandsupported (SeaWiFS) was the result of a persistent effort by the argument to include global ocean-color ob- the ocean biogeochemical remote sensing commu- servations in the Earth Observing System (EOS; nity to have an operational ocean-color satellite Asrar andDozier, 1994 ; King et al., 1999) that following the great success of the experimental ultimately resultedin the ModerateResolution Nimbus-7 Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS). Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra andAqua platforms. The strategy was to *Corresponding author. Fax: +1-301-286-0268. have SeaWiFS launch precede the MODIS launch E-mail address: [email protected] by several years to initiate a global ocean-color (C.R. McClain). time series in support of the Joint Global Ocean 0967-0645/$ - see front matter Publishedby Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2003.11.001 ARTICLE IN PRESS 6 C.R. McClain et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 51 (2004) 5–42 Flux Study (JGOFS) process studies in the Calibration, andValidationelements were merged Arabian Sea, equatorial Pacific, andSouthern to form the Calibration andValidation (CV) Ocean and to provide ample time to design and element. validate sensor calibration strategies and algo- The prelaunch phase was characterizedby an rithms in preparation for the MODIS time series. unprecedented level of cooperation between In addition, SeaWiFS was to be the first in a series NASA, OSC, andthe instrument subcontractor, of US andinternational ocean-color missions that Hughes Santa Barbara Research Center, given wouldeventually providea long-term recordof that the contract did not require a high degree of ocean biological andoptical properties for climate interaction. In fact, GSFC engineering groups research. In 1990, the NASA Goddard Space made many voluntary contributions towards Flight Center (GSFC) initiateda competitive resolving a number of technical problems with ocean-color data-buy procurement and established spacecraft components andsubsystems, e.g., ra- a SeaWiFS Project Office (SPO). diation hardness, power, navigation and attitude A data-buy contract with Orbital Sciences control, andtelemetry. Throughout the prelaunch Corporation (OSC) was finalizedin 1991 with an phase, OSC demonstrated a firm resolve to achieve expectedlaunch in mid-1993.NASA was to have success, even at considerable expense to the insight, but not oversight, into the spacecraft and company. In addition, NASA Headquarters pro- sensor design, construction, and testing. Under the vided steadfast support to the SPO. Despite the contract, OSC was responsible for building, best efforts of all parties, the launch schedule launching, andoperating the spacecraft. Origin- slipped4 years. In August 1997, the prelaunch ally, the spacecraft was calledSeaSTAR, but it was phase culminatedin a flawless Pegasus-XL launch, renamedafter launch to OrbView-2 when Orbital andSeaWiFS has delivereda continuous stream of Imaging Corporation (ORBIMAGE) purchased GAC and LAC data of unprecedented quality the spacecraft from OSC. The payment schedule since September 1997. was front-endloadedso that most of the fixed The original science goals andproject objectives, costs were paidat the completion of specific listedin Table 1 (Hooker et al., 1992), were defined milestones during the prelaunch system develop- to support quantitative research. The initial ment andpostlaunch dataacceptance phases. product suite was very similar to that of the CZCS After acceptance, fixedmonthly payments have and included total radiances (level 1 data), been made, subject to penalties if the data quality normalizedwater-leaving radiances, chlorophyll- is less than nominal (to date, no penalties have a, diffuse attenuation (490 nm), and certain atmo- been applied). NASA’s responsibilities included spheric correction-relatedparameters (level-2 sensor and onboard recorder scheduling (sensor products), and binned and standard mapped tilting, solar calibrations, lunar calibrations, inter- products at various temporal resolutions (level-3 nal sensor test sequences, andhigh-resolution data products), e.g., daily, 8-day, and monthly (Darzi, recording), postlaunch sensor calibration, derived 1998). The radiometric and chlorophyll-a accuracy product algorithm development, data acquisition goals are quite rigorous andhave provedchallen- [coarse resolution global area coverage (GAC) and ging to meet. Given the aggressive launch sche- fine-resolution local area coverage (LAC)], data dule, calibration and validation activities were to processing, research data archival and distribu- be coordinated with those of the MODIS Oceans tion, andselection of high-resolution picture Team that were already underway. The SPO also transmission (HRPT) stations. With these activ- sought the science community’s involvement in ities in mind, the SPO was organized at GSFC each aspect of the program to capitalize on their with a project manager, a project scientist, and expertise, to explore new applications of the data, project element leaders, the elements being Data andto ensure the greatest possible utilization of Capture, Mission Operations (MO), Instrument the data for Earth system science. The SPO Science, Calibration, Validation, and Data Proces- benefitedgreatly from its collaborations with the sing (DP). Over time, the Instrument Science, MODIS Oceans Team, the science community at ARTICLE IN PRESS C.R. McClain et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 51 (2004) 5–42 7 Table 1 Original SeaWiFS program goals andproject objectives ( Hooker et al., 1992) SeaWiFS program goals SeaWiFS Project Office objectives 1. To determine the spatial and temporal distributions of 1. To serve as the NASA liaison to OSC for the procurement phytoplankton blooms, along with the magnitude and of SeaWiFS data for the oceanographic research community variability of primary production by marine phytoplankton 2. To facilitate the operation andschedulingof the SeaWiFS on a global scale sensor system 2. To quantify the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle and 3. To develop and validate algorithms for bio-optical other biogeochemical cycles properties andatmospheric correction 3. To identify and quantify the relationships between ocean 4. To characterize andcalibrate the SeaWiFS system andto physics andlarge-scale patterns of productivity assess on-orbit performance 4. To understand the fate of fluvial nutrients and their possible 5. To achieve radiometric accuracy to within 5% absolute and effects on carbon budgets 1% relative, water-leaving radiance to within 5% absolute, 5. To identify the large-scale distribution and timing of spring andchlorophyll- a concentration to within 35% over the blooms in the global oceans range of 0.05–50.0 mg mÀ3 6. To acquire global data on marine optical properties, along 6. To collect, archive, and process recorded data, as well as with a better understanding of the processes associated with global maps of bio-optical properties andchlorophyll- a mixing along the edge of eddies and boundary currents concentration for the research community 7. To advance the scientific applications of ocean-color data 7. To provide quality assurance monitoring of, and coordinate andthe technical capabilities requiredfor dataprocessing, collection of, direct broadcast data by NASA’s selected management, andanalysis in preparation for future LAC receiving stations missions. 8. To support the SeaWiFS Science Working Group (SWG). large, andthe Sensor Intercomparison
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