VIIRS ocean color data visualization and processing with IDL-based NOAA-SeaDAS

Abstract

The NOAA Sea-viewing Data Analysis System (NOAA-SeaDAS) is an Interactive Data Language (IDL)-based satellite data visualization, analysis, and processing system based on the version 6.4 of the NASA’s Sea-viewing Wide Field-ofview (SeaWiFS) Data Analysis System (SeaDAS) released in 2012. NOAA-SeaDAS inherited all the original functionalities of SeaDAS 6.4 and was upgraded with many new functions and new sensor supports, particularly the support of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (SNPP). The main goal of the NOAA-SeaDAS development is primarily in support of NOAA ocean color team’s calibration and validation activities. The current version of NOAA-SeaDAS can visualize, analyze, and process VIIRS Sensor Data Records (SDR or Level-1B data) produced by the NOAA Interface Data Processing System (IDPS), ocean color Environmental Data Records (EDR or Level-2 data) produced by the NOAA Multi-Sensor Level-1 to Level- 2 (MSL12) ocean color data processing system, and Level-3 data binned or mapped from Level-2 data produced by NOAA-MSL12. NOAA-SeaDAS is currently serving an active IDL user group at NOAA and will serve other institutions and universities in the future. The goal is to allow various scientific users to visualize, analyze, and process VIIRS data from Level-1B through Level-2 and Level-3. In addition, NOAA-SeaDAS can also visualize satellite images from the Korean Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI), as well as many other satellite ocean color sensors, e.g., SeaWiFS, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), etc. NOAA-SeaDAS is under constant development to create new system functionalities and enhance user experience. With constantly increasing volume in the global ocean color data archive, NOAA-SeaDAS will play an important role in support of global marine environment data analysis and various scientific applications.