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Ocean

Ocean Ecology

Mission

The Ocean Ecology Laboratory advances Earth System Science by managing ocean and atmospheric satellite climate data records, developing new remote sensing, field, laboratory, and modelling methods, and by conducting innovative research in ocean Biogeochemistry and atmospheric composition and processes.  

Ocean Ecology conducts research on ocean ecosystems and the interactions between Earth's chemical cycles and life. The laboratory also manages “ocean color” data from NASA satellite sensors. Sediment, dissolved chemicals, and marine microorganisms called phytoplankton affect the colors of sunlight reflected off the ocean, providing a way to monitor ocean ecosystems from orbit.

The staff works to ensure the accuracy of ocean-color data and make it available to users across the world. Scientists use the data to study fundamental issues such as the global distribution of phytoplankton, the storage of carbon in the ocean, and the role of the oceans in climate change. Personnel also participate in research cruises in collaboration with other researchers funded by NASA and assist NASA Headquarters in developing future earth-observing missions.

Space Missions

glimr

The Geostationary Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer (GLIMR) instrument is a hyperspectral ocean color sensor launching after 2026 that targets the Gulf of Mexico and other coastal and ocean waters of North and South America.

noaa

The Visible and Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is a multi-disciplinary instrument that is being flown on the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) series of spacecraft.

Instruments

Greater radiometric accuracy, decreased size and costs, plus the need for multidisciplinary research are all technology-forcing challenges to be addressed by the next generation of optical instruments. To develop a commercially successful marine spectroradiometer, the device must also appeal to the majority of investigators working in this field. This requirement led to the development of a so-called smart photodetector or microradiometer, plus its ancillary interface modules.

Organizations:

An Optical Sensors for Planetary Radiance Energy (OSPREy) system consists of radiance radiometers mounted on computer-controlled pointing systems and irradiance radiometers equipped with shadowbands. Synchronous and asynchronous sampling modes measure the sea, Sun, and sky, across a wide spectral range---the ultraviolet (UV), through the visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR), and into the short-wave infrared (SWIR)---to derive an unprecedented number of near-simultaneous atmospheric and oceanic parameters.

Organizations:

Field Campaigns

The Aerosol Characterization from Polarimeter and Lidar (ACEPOL) airborne field campaign. The 2017 ACEPOL field campaign is a resource for remote sensing communities as they prepare for the next generation of spaceborne multi-angle polarimeter and lidar missions.

The seventh and final cruise for the project entitled "Impacts of Climate Variability on Primary Production and Carbon Distributions in the Middle Atlantic Bight and Gulf of Maine" (CLiVEC) was carried out on board the R/V Henry Bigelow from August 7-24, 2012. CLiVEC is a joint research project with researchers from Old Dominion University (ODU) and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).