Welcome to the International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group
Promoting development and applications of science and technology that underpin remote sensing of ocean colour across all aquatic environments (in-land, coastal, open ocean), through coordination, training, liaising between providers and users, advocacy, and provision of expert advice.
The International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group (IOCCG) is an international committee of experts comprised of representatives from national space agencies and research scientists from the aquatic radiometry user community. It was established in 1996 under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, following a resolution endorsed by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS). IOCCG promotes development and applications of science and technology that underpin remote sensing of ocean colour across all aquatic environments (in-land, coastal, open-ocean) through coordination, training, liaison between providers (space agencies) and users (scientists), advocacy, and provision of expert advice. Objectives include developing consensus and synthesis at the world scale in the subject area of satellite ocean colour radiometry (OCR), establishing specialised scientific working groups to investigate various aspects of ocean colour technology and its applications, and addressing continuity and consistency of ocean colour radiance datasets through the CEOS OCR-Virtual Constellation. The IOCCG also has a strong interest in capacity building, and conducts and sponsors advanced ocean colour training courses in various countries around the world.
The IOCCG is an affiliated project of the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) and an associate member of CEOS. The activities of the IOCCG are supported by national space agencies and other organisations, and by infrastructure support from SCOR and the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada) where the IOCCG Project Office is hosted.
Highlights
60-Day comment period for draft Dissolved Organic Matter Sampling and Measurement Protocols: Consensus Towards Future Ocean Color Missions, open until 15 July 2024.
GOCI Toolbox (GTBX) on Snap in-person ocean colour training course at the 45th COSPAR Scientific Assembly in Busan, South Korea, on 18 July from 9 am – 12 pm. Sign-up here
The May 2024 IOCCG News Bulletin is out! Share the link and subscribe to the IOCCG mailing list to receive this and other ocean colour related announcements. Contributions welcome for the next quarterly bulletin in August.
The fifth International Ocean Colour Science (IOCS) meeting took place in St. Petersburg, FL, USA from 14 – 17 November 2023, and was convened by the International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group (IOCCG) in partnership with the University of South Florida, and thanks to sponsorship from several sponsors.