Chapter 20
Ocean-Colour Radiometry:
Achievements and Future Perspectives
Shubha Sathyendranath and Trevor Platt
20.1 Introduction
Our understanding and interpretation of variations in ocean colour have matured
and coalesced during the three decades of satellite-based remote sensing of spectral
visible radiometry to create a separate discipline. Ocean-colour products from various satellite-sensors that reveal, in intricate detail, a wealth of information about
phytoplankton distribution in the world oceans have by now become standard tools
for oceanographers, and it is difficult to remember the under-sampled world with
chlorophyll maps produced using sparse ship data that was the lot of biological
oceanographers in the pre-ocean-colour era. Spectrally-resolved water-leaving radiance in the visible domain, and chlorophyll concentration derived from it, are now
recognised as essential climate variables for studies of climate change (GCOS,
2004). Many national space agencies have their own ocean-colour programmes. The
International Ocean Colour Co-ordinating Group (IOCCG) is working to coordinate
and stimulate activities in the ocean-colour arena, and is advocating the various ways
in which ocean-colour data can be used for the advancement of science as well as
for the benefit of society at large.
These signs of maturity contrast with other signs of a field in its youth, such
as continued rapid growth: the technology is still advancing, the interpretation is
being taken to new heights, the product line is diversifying, and the applications are
expanding (IOCCG, 2008). All of these are signs of a field that has not yet fully
realised or exploited its true potential, or circumscribed its limitations. So we might
ask: What are the promising lines for growth and development for ocean colour during, say, the next decade? In this chapter, we explore lines of research that provide
scope for exciting developments in the future. These may be categorised under technical developments, improved interpretation, new products and novel applications.
We also examine areas of challenge that are likely to set the limits on growth.
S. Sathyendranath (B)
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK; Dalhousie University, Halifax
Nova Scotia, Canada
e-mail: shubha@dal.ca
349
V. Barale et al. (eds.), Oceanography from Space,
DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-8681-5_20, C
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010
Ocean-Colour Radiometry:
Achievements and Future Perspectives
Shubha Sathyendranath and Trevor Platt
20.1 Introduction
Our understanding and interpretation of variations in ocean colour have matured
and coalesced during the three decades of satellite-based remote sensing of spectral
visible radiometry to create a separate discipline. Ocean-colour products from various satellite-sensors that reveal, in intricate detail, a wealth of information about
phytoplankton distribution in the world oceans have by now become standard tools
for oceanographers, and it is difficult to remember the under-sampled world with
chlorophyll maps produced using sparse ship data that was the lot of biological
oceanographers in the pre-ocean-colour era. Spectrally-resolved water-leaving radiance in the visible domain, and chlorophyll concentration derived from it, are now
recognised as essential climate variables for studies of climate change (GCOS,
2004). Many national space agencies have their own ocean-colour programmes. The
International Ocean Colour Co-ordinating Group (IOCCG) is working to coordinate
and stimulate activities in the ocean-colour arena, and is advocating the various ways
in which ocean-colour data can be used for the advancement of science as well as
for the benefit of society at large.
These signs of maturity contrast with other signs of a field in its youth, such
as continued rapid growth: the technology is still advancing, the interpretation is
being taken to new heights, the product line is diversifying, and the applications are
expanding (IOCCG, 2008). All of these are signs of a field that has not yet fully
realised or exploited its true potential, or circumscribed its limitations. So we might
ask: What are the promising lines for growth and development for ocean colour during, say, the next decade? In this chapter, we explore lines of research that provide
scope for exciting developments in the future. These may be categorised under technical developments, improved interpretation, new products and novel applications.
We also examine areas of challenge that are likely to set the limits on growth.
S. Sathyendranath (B)
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK; Dalhousie University, Halifax
Nova Scotia, Canada
e-mail: shubha@dal.ca
349
V. Barale et al. (eds.), Oceanography from Space,
DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-8681-5_20, C
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010