Guild, Liane: NASA ARC (Project Lead)
Hooker, Stanford: NASA GSFC (Institution Lead)
Project Funding:
2015 - 2017
NRA: 2012 NASA: Remote Sensing of Water Quality
Funded by NASA
Abstract:
We propose to demonstrate novel measurement capabilities from the air and ground with combined use of a new airborne sensor suite to characterize coastal atmospheric and aquatic properties through an end-to-end assessment of image acquisition, atmospheric correction, algorithm application, plus sea-truth observations from new state-of-the-art instrument systems. New airborne instruments provide opportunities for baseline observations for algorithm development and validation for next-generation missions (e.g., PACE and ACE). The Coastal Airborne In-situ Radiometer (C-AIR) instrument package, which features highly accurate microradiometers, was flown in the COAST mission in October 2011. C-AIR was used to provide sea-truth validation for airborne data products derived from oceanic measurements. Contemporaneously, the Compact-Optical Profiling System (C-OPS), a radiometrically identical inwater complement to C-AIR, made sea- truth measurements in the sampling region. The capability of this multisensor approach (from the air and sea) is unprecedented by having varying overlap in instrument spectral dynamic range spanning the UV - NIR allowing measurements for novel data analysis methodologies for atmospheric and aquatic optical properties in the coastal zone. The first phase (year 1) extends the work initiated with COAST to simultaneously obtain ocean, coastal, and atmosphere data sets for improved in-water algorithms and atmospheric calibration. In the second phase, we propose to demonstrate, the following: a) atmospheric correction schemes on imaging spectrometer data along with exact Lw(#) values from the microradiometers for advancing discrimination of coastal ocean optical properties; and b) calibration and validation competencies from the combination of simultaneous airborne and ship-based measurements with advanced atmospherically corrected data for next-generation satellite missions, as well as currently perating and developing (legacy) missions. We will characterize the atmospherically corrected imaging spectrometer data with matching C-AIR Lw(#) values for in-water algorithms and evaluate new capabilities to discriminate complex coastal water properties. In the final phase of the proposal, we will address the multisensor performance of the COAST instruments with new atmospheric correction approaches from enhanced data acquisition to address questions of water quality. At the completion of this project, we will provide a final report along with all data and software, and publication of peer-reviewed manuscripts. Additionally, we will provide: • Rigorous assessment of Headwall data with constrained atmospheric parameters; • Application of results to calibration and validation activities and coastal science for PACE, ACE, GEO-CAPE, and HyspIRI; • Processing of AOP data using PROSIT (and iPROSIT), modified to use C-AIR and HyperPro II data, to ensure data products are obtained with a documented uncertainty to within established metrics for producing essential climate variables (ECVs) and climate data records (CDRs); • Determination of water quality indices and estimation of iogeochemical constituents using spectral end-member analyses; • Demonstration of the ability to acquire spectral imagery for studies of bio-optical properties of the coastal ocean and for calibration and validation of current and future missions; and • Sensitivity analyses of how atmospheric variability and corrections affect the uncertainties in final data products from AOP sensors. This proposal directly builds on the expertise derived from previous NASA airborne remote sensing programs, including the NASA COAST project. The PIs have demonstrated records utilizing the MAS, MASTER, and AVIRIS instruments, and UCSC hosted the HES-CW risk reduction activities prior to the cancellation (by NOAA) of the mission. Lastly, this proposal will provide high-fidelity data sets to evaluate the algorithms being developed for future satellite systems.
More details may be found in the following project profile(s):
