Abstract:

Remote sensing reflectance, Rrs(λ), is used for validation of airborne and satellite ocean color measurements. Inverse models also employ Rrs measurements to estimate the bio-optical properties of near-surface waters or shallow benthic environments. It has been used to detect algal blooms, floating vegetation. The presence of oil also alters the water’s specular reflectance properties, and thus the measured Rrs. Rrs(λ) is measured from the ship using a handheld spectroradiometer. Multiple measurements of the light reflected from the water’s surface, a portion of the sky, and a calibrated, diffuse reflectance reference plaque are made using a spectroradiometer with a limited field of view. The Rrs measurement is most reliable during moderate solar elevations, using observational angles consistent with remote sensing protocols. Multiple radiance measurements are combined in the computation of Rrs(λ). This dataset reports water depth, wind speed, wave height, sea surface viewing angle, wavelength, and remote sensing reflectance measurements at each station.

Suggested Citation:

Chuanmin Hu, David English, Charles Kovach. 2016. Spectral remote sensing reflectance of the water surface collected at multiple stations on cruises DP01 and DP02, May-August 2015. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7ZC818X

Publications:

Barnes, B. B., Cannizzaro, J. P., English, D. C., & Hu, C. (2019). Validation of VIIRS and MODIS reflectance data in coastal and oceanic waters: An assessment of methods. Remote Sensing of Environment, 220, 110–123. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2018.10.034

Purpose:

Remote sensing reflectance was measured to help relate the optical properties and material within the surface waters to values derived from above water or ocean color satellite measurements.

Data Parameters and Units:

investigators, affiliations, contact, experiment, cruise, station, data file name, related documents, data type, calibration files, data status, start date (YYYYMMDD), end date (YYYYMMDD), start time (HH:MM:SS), end time (HH:MM:SS), north latitude (decimal degrees), south latitude (decimal degrees), east longitude (decimal degrees), west longitude (decimal degrees), water depth (meters), measurement depth (meters-default is 0 for measurements made above the sea surface), cloud percent (percent cloud cover for the entire sky-0 indicates no clouds and 100 indicates completely overcast), wind speed (meters per second), wave height (meters), comments, sea surface viewing zenith (degrees), sea surface viewing azimuth (degrees), wavelength (nm), remote sensing reflectance (rrs,1/sr)

Individual Files: