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.

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.

Abstract-A design concept for an advanced ocean color radiometer, the Ocean Radiometer for Carbon Assessment (ORCA) has been underway at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) since 2002.