Ocean Colour Programs and Institutions

NASA OceanColor Web

Data products (CZCS, SeaWiFS, OCTS, MODIS-Aqua, MODIS-Terra, HICO, MERIS), ocean colour imagery, SeaDAS software, support services.

ESA Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (CCI)

The Ocean Colour CCI project focuses on the ocean colour Essential Climate Variable (ECV) encompassing water-leaving radiance in the visible domain, derived chlorophyll and inherent optical properties and will utilise data archives of from ESA’s MERIS and NASA’s SeaWiFS, MODIS and possibly CZCS (after careful evaluation) sensors archives. It is also looking at the feasibility of using OCM-2 and VIIRS data as a “gap filler” before the launch of Sentinel-3.

Bermuda Bio-Optics Project (BBOP) – Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences

The Bermuda Bio-Optics Project (BBOP) is a long term study of the factors contributing to the regulation of the underwater light field in the open ocean and the resulting biogeochemical impact. These studies are done, on average, once a month in conjunction with the Bermuda-Atlantic Time Series (BATS) in the Sargasso Sea.

Bermuda Atlantic Time-Series Study (BATS) – Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.

This project involves long time-series studies of biogeochemical cycles in the Sargasso Sea, near Bermuda. An important part of BATS is the Satellite Project, where high resolution satellite imagery is being combined with the time-series data to extend the spatial and temporal reach of the BATS study.

CoastWatch Project – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)

NOAA CoastWatch was established in 1987 to provide near real-time satellite data for all the coastal waters of the United States. Images are freely available to governmental and academic users.

Curtin’s  Remote Sensing & Satellite Research Group – (RSSRG) Curtin University, Perth, Australia.

Marine Optics and Remote Sensing Group – Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, France. The Marine Optics and Remote Sensing Lab is an interdisciplinary group studying the interaction of solar energy with the ocean. Our main research activities focus on the propagation of solar energy in the atmosphere and ocean, and include its interaction with oceanic constituents and its influence on primary production.

Institute for Environment and Sustainability – Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, Ispra, Italy. The mission of the JRC’s Institute for Environment and Sustainability (JRC-IES) is to provide scientific and technical support to EU policies for the protection of the environment, and the more efficient and sustainable management of natural resources at global and continental scales.

Bio-Optical/Physical Processes and Remote Sensing Section – Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Mississippi, USA. The group conducts research to better understand oceanographic processes in coastal and open-ocean environments. Their overarching goal is to exploit this knowledge of the marine environment to address a wide variety of navy needs related to optical variability, underwater light penetration, and physical/optical forecasting.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) – Remote Sensing and Satellite Oceanography.  The SIO is part of the University of California, San Diego. The scientific scope of the institution includes physical, chemical, geological and geophysical studies of the oceans as well as biological research.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Massachusetts, USA – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is America’s largest, independent, not- for-profit, oceanographic research institution.

Laboratoire d’Optique Atmospherique – Universite de Lille, France. The atmospheric optics laboratory aims at modeling the propagation through the atmosphere of the visible light received from the sun and of the infrared light emitted by terrestrial surfaces and atmosphere. Studies in this context are addressed to the global climate problem. sensor.

The Remote Sensing Laboratory – Department of Marine Science, University of South Florida, USA. Research activities of the Remote Sensing Laboratory are focused on the analysis of digital data obtained by satellite and airborne sensors, and on the development of applications of these data at local, regional, and global scales. The main objective is to provide a better understanding of the world oceans on a large spatial and temporal scale. In situ optical and biological data are collected for ground truthing and to relate the apparent and inherent optical properties of water constituents with the remote sensors’ signal. The group specializes in coastal processes of highly variable regions like the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) Remote Sensing Group  – PMLs  activities are centred on the remote-sensing of the Earth’s ocean and atmosphere. The group comprises a multi-disciplinary team of scientists with expertise in remote-sensing, physics, meteorology, engineering, computer vision and computer science. The group’s activities evolve around the validation of remotely-sensed data, the efficient processing of these data and ways of intelligently exploiting them for real-world problems.

Earth System Science and Climate Change Group: Marine Optics, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, UK.  This programme is principally concerned with the optical oceanography of turbid coastal waters, including in situ and satellite remote sensing.

Instituto del Mar del Perú (IMARPE). Esq. Gamarra y Gral. Valle s/n Chucuito, Callao, PerúIMARPE was set up in 1964. The oceanography group coordinates, programs, executes and evaluates oceanographic investigation, including physical processes, chemistry of the sea, El Niño, sea productivity, contamination and its socio-economic impact by looking at marine life, plankton and the effect of pollution on the ecosystem. Their goal is to maintain an exchange of oceanographic information at the national, regional and international level.