Decadal Time Series Research Articles

Stratospheric ozone trends and variability as seen by SCIAMACHY from 2002 to 2012

Abstract. Vertical profiles of the rate of linear change (trend) in the altitude range 15–50 km are determined from decadal O3 time series obtained from SCIAMACHY1/ENVISAT2 measurements in limb-viewing geometry. The trends are calculated by using a multivariate linear regression. Seasonal variations, the quasi-biennial oscillation, signatures of the solar cycle and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation are accounted for in the regression. The time range of trend calculation is August 2002–April 2012. A focus for analysis are the zonal bands of 20° N–20° S (tropics), 60–50° N, and 50–60° S (midlatitudes). In the tropics, positive trends of up to 5% per decade between 20 and 30 km and negative trends of up to 10% per decade between 30 and 38 km are identified. Positive O3 trends of around 5% per decade are found in the upper stratosphere in the tropics and at midlatitudes. Comparisons between SCIAMACHY and EOS MLS3 show reasonable agreement both in the tropics and at midlatitudes for most altitudes. In the tropics, measurements from OSIRIS4/Odin and SHADOZ5 are also analysed. These yield rates of linear change of O3 similar to those from SCIAMACHY. However, the trends from SCIAMACHY near 34 km in the tropics are larger than MLS and OSIRIS by a factor of around two. 1 SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY 2 European environmental research satellite 3 Earth Observing System (EOS) Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) 4 Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System 5 Southern Hemisphere ADditional OZonesondes

A decadal time-series of recreational fishing effort collected during and after implementation of a multiple use marine park shows high inter-annual but low spatial variability

Recreational fishing is commonly allowed in some areas of multiple-use marine parks but little is known about how fishing effort varies over time. To examine inter-annual and spatial variability, a time-series (1999–2009) of fishing effort was collected at the Jervis Bay Marine Park (JBMP) (Australia). Compared to a previous baseline (1989–1990), effort had doubled to tripled for comparative months, when sampling recommenced during the consultation period for zoning the park. Following the 2002 implementation of the zone plan, effort generally declined, so much so that in February 2009 fishing effort was 88% less than what was observed in February 2000. This decline was not associated with a model, based on the spatially explicit fishing effort data collected during the 1999–2002 consultation period and the pragmatically designed zoning plan, which predicted only 18.5% of fishing effort would be displaced by the ‘no-take’ sanctuary zones. Over the same period of decline in effort at JBMP, statewide recreational fishing licence sales remained steady or increased slightly. Interestingly, the JBMP fisheries’ spatial distribution remained remarkably stable, with no difference in ranked use of the 10 sub-sampled areas used as spatial strata in the study-all of which eventually contained segments of sanctuary zone-either between months, years or pre or post zoning. The time-series suggests that fishing effort can show high inter-annual variable over time at a regional scale, while other aspects of the fishery, such as spatial distributions, remain stable, and that effort can vary significantly even when zoning minimizes impacts on recreational fisheries.

Decadal time series of tropospheric abundance of N2O isotopomers and isotopologues in the Northern Hemisphere obtained by the long‐term observation at Hateruma Island, Japan

Decadal time series and short‐term temporal variations in mixing ratio of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) and abundance of its isotopomers (14N15N16O and 15N14N16O) and isotopologue (14N14N18O) relative to 14N14N16O have been observed for the first time in the Northern Hemisphere at Hateruma Island (HAT), Japan during 1999–2010 by monthly air sampling. Results show that the bulk nitrogen isotope ratio δ15Nbulk decreased at the rate of −0.023 ± 0.006‰ yr−1, although the N2O mixing ratio increased at the rate of about 0.7 nmol mol−1 yr−1 (ppb yr−1) during the period. Isotope budget calculation with the δ15Nbulk trend supports the earlier estimates showing that the isotopically light sources such as agriculture and industry contribute to the increase of atmospheric N2O. However, the rate of decrease of δ15Nbulk is slightly smaller in magnitude than the rates obtained virtually for the 20th century from firn air in polar regions and surface air in the Southern Hemisphere (Tasmania and Antarctica), which suggests greater contribution of 15 N‐enriched N2O sources in recent years or in the extra‐polar Northern Hemisphere. In contrast, the oxygen isotope ratio (δ18O) and intramolecular 15N site preference (SP, difference between isotope ratios at central and terminal nitrogen atoms) of N2O showed no significant trends, contrary to previous reports. Results show that no significant seasonal variation exists in δ15Nbulk, δ18O, and SP of N2O at HAT in the past decade within the limits of our sampling frequency and analytical precision.

GIS-BASED ANALYSIS OF STORM VULNERABILITY CHANGE AT PEA ISLAND, NC

In August 2011, Hurricane Irene opened multiple small breaches along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, USA. To predict storm damage to barrier islands, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has developed the storm impact scale for barrier islands, which assesses vulnerability based on the configuration of the pre-storm terrain relative to storm characteristics. We present the vulnerability of Pea Island to Hurricane Isabel (2003) and Irene (2011) using an efficient GIS-based implementation of the storm impact scale. This implementation employs a least cost path approach to automated topographic feature extraction and a remote sensing approach to wrack line extraction for storm parameter estimation. The assessed vulnerability along with high-resolution topographic visualizations based on a decadal time-series of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data suggest that the location of the breach formation was a function of the pre-storm terrain. With the presented methodology, the geospatial information required to identify vulnerable areas can efficiently be extracted so that management strategies can be implemented before storm damage occurs.

Satellite-Derived Photic Depth on the Great Barrier Reef: Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Water Clarity

Detecting changes to the transparency of the water column is critical for understanding the responses of marine organisms, such as corals, to light availability. Long-term patterns in water transparency determine geographical and depth distributions, while acute reductions cause short-term stress, potentially mortality and may increase the organisms’ vulnerability to other environmental stressors. Here, we investigated the optimal, operational algorithm for light attenuation through the water column across the scale of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia. We implemented and tested a quasi-analytical algorithm to determine the photic depth in GBR waters and matched regional Secchi depth (ZSD) data to MODIS-Aqua (2002–2010) and SeaWiFS (1997–2010) satellite data. The results of the in situ ZSD/satellite data matchup showed a simple bias offset between the in situ and satellite retrievals. Using a Type II linear regression of log-transformed satellite and in situ data, we estimated ZSD and implemented the validated ZSD algorithm to generate a decadal satellite time series (2002–2012) for the GBR. Water clarity varied significantly in space and time. Seasonal effects were distinct, with lower values during the austral summer, most likely due to river runoff and increased vertical mixing, and a decline in water clarity between 2008–2012, reflecting a prevailing La Niña weather pattern. The decline in water clarity was most pronounced in the inshore area, where a significant decrease in mean inner shelf ZSD of 2.1 m (from 8.3 m to 6.2 m) occurred over the decade. Empirical Orthogonal Function Analysis determined the dominance of Mode 1 (51.3%), with the greatest variation in water clarity along the mid-shelf, reflecting the strong influence of oceanic intrusions on the spatio-temporal patterns of water clarity. The newly developed photic depth product has many potential applications for the GBR from water quality monitoring to analyses of ecosystem responses to changes in water clarity.

Seasonal sea ice cover as principal driver of spatial and temporal variation in depth extension and annual production of kelp in Greenland.

We studied the depth distribution and production of kelp along the Greenland coast spanning Arctic to sub-Arctic conditions from 78 °N to 64 °N. This covers a wide range of sea ice conditions and water temperatures, with those presently realized in the south likely to move northwards in a warmer future. Kelp forests occurred along the entire latitudinal range, and their depth extension and production increased southwards presumably in response to longer annual ice-free periods and higher water temperature. The depth limit of 10% kelp cover was 9–14 m at the northernmost sites (77–78 °N) with only 94–133 ice-free days per year, but extended to depths of 21–33 m further south (73 °N–64 °N) where >160 days per year were ice-free, and annual production of Saccharina longicruris and S. latissima, measured as the size of the annual blade, ranged up to sevenfold among sites. The duration of the open-water period, which integrates light and temperature conditions on an annual basis, was the best predictor (relative to summer water temperature) of kelp production along the latitude gradient, explaining up to 92% of the variation in depth extension and 80% of the variation in kelp production. In a decadal time series from a high Arctic site (74 °N), inter-annual variation in sea ice cover also explained a major part (up to 47%) of the variation in kelp production. Both spatial and temporal data sets thereby support the prediction that northern kelps will play a larger role in the coastal marine ecosystem in a warmer future as the length of the open-water period increases. As kelps increase carbon-flow and habitat diversity, an expansion of kelp forests may exert cascading effects on the coastal Arctic ecosystem.

Sea surface temperature variability in the subpolar Atlantic over the last two millennia

A decadal resolution time series of sea surface temperature (SST) spanning the last two millennia is reconstructed by combining a proxy record from a new sediment sequence with previously published data from core MD99–2275, north of Iceland. The alkenone based SST reconstruction is validated with historic observational data and compared to a new similar temporal resolution reconstruction obtained from sediment core RAPiD21–3K, in the subpolar North Atlantic. The two SST paleorecords show consistent multidecadal scale coolings throughout the interval and similar expressions during the contrasted climatic periods ‘colloquially known’ as the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (MCA) and Little Ice Age (LIA). In order to further understand the temporal and spatial SST variations and investigate the influence of natural forcings on the observed SST changes during the last millennium, we compare our time series to simulations using the Institut Pierre‐Simon Laplace IPSLCM4‐v2 climate model. This comparison highlights the potential importance of volcanism as a natural forcing driving coherent abrupt cooling events captured in the subpolar North Atlantic records.

On the seasonal cycles and variability of Florida Straits, Ekman and Sverdrup transports at 26° N in the Atlantic Ocean

Abstract. Since April 2004 the RAPID array has made continuous measurements of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) at 26° N. Two key components of this system are Ekman transport zonally integrated across 26° N and western boundary current transport in the Florida Straits. Whilst measurements of the AMOC as a whole are somewhat in their infancy, this study investigates what useful information can be extracted on the variability of the Ekman and Florida Straits transports using the decadal timeseries already available. Analysis is also presented for Sverdrup transports zonally integrated across 26° N. The seasonal cycles of Florida Straits, Ekman and Sverdrup transports are quantified at 26° N using harmonic analysis of annual and semi-annual constituents. Whilst Sverdrup transport shows clear semi-annual periodicity, calculations of seasonal Florida Straits and Ekman transports show substantial interannual variability due to contamination by variability at non-seasonal frequencies; the mean seasonal cycle for these transports only emerges from decadal length observations. The Florida Straits and Ekman mean seasonal cycles project on the AMOC with a combined peak-to-peak seasonal range of 3.5 Sv. The combined seasonal range for heat transport is 0.40 PW. The Florida Straits seasonal cycle possesses a smooth annual periodicity in contrast with previous studies suggesting a more asymmetric structure. No clear evidence is found to support significant changes in the Florida Straits seasonal cycle at sub-decadal periods. Whilst evidence of wind driven Florida Straits transport variability is seen at sub-seasonal and annual periods, a model run from the 1/4° eddy-permitting ocean model NEMO is used to identify an important contribution from internal oceanic variability at sub-annual and interannual periods. The Ekman transport seasonal cycle possesses less symmetric structure, due in part to different seasonal transport regimes east and west of 50 to 60° W. Around 60% of non-seasonal Ekman transport variability occurs in phase section-wide at 26° N and is related to the NAO, whilst Sverdrup transport variability is more difficult to decompose.

Geospatial analysis of vulnerable beach-foredune systems from decadal time series of lidar data

Time series of lidar data, acquired over the past decade along the North American East Coast, provide opportunities to gain new insights into 3D evolution of barrier islands and their beach and dune systems. GIS-based per grid cell statistics and map algebra was applied to time series of Digital Surface Models representing two sections of North Carolina barrier islands to quantify elevation change trends, map dynamic and stable locations, identify new and lost buildings, measure relative volume evolution in the beach and foredune systems and analyze shoreline dynamics. Results show a relatively small stable core in both study areas, with beaches and the ocean side of the dunes exhibiting systematic high rates of elevation loss while areas landward from the dunes increase slightly in elevation. Significant number of new homes have been built at locations with very small core surface elevation, and homes built within the shoreline dynamics band have already been lost. The raster-based methodology used in this study can be applied to perform similar analyses in other coastal areas where time series of lidar data are available.

Analysis of Decadal Time Series in Wet N Concentrations at Five Rural Sites in NE Spain

Nitrogen emissions have grown in Spain during the last 15 years. As precipitation scavenges gases and aerosols from the atmosphere, an effect on rainwater concentrations can be expected. However, time-series studies on wet N concentrations in the Iberian Peninsula are very scarce. This paper aims to fill this gap by analysing weekly rainfall N concentrations at a set of rural sites in Catalonia (NE Spain) from 1995/1996 to 2007 and a forest site monitored from 1983 to 2007. The sites encompass a range of rural environments and climate conditions, from the inland pre-Pyrenees (Sort) to the Mediterranean coast (Begur) and from north (Sort and Begur) to central (Palautordera and La Castanya) and south Catalonia (La Senia). We found a 1-year cycle for concentrations of NH 4 + and NO 3 − whereby higher values were reached at the end of spring–early summer, except at the easternmost coastal site of Begur. Weekly NH 4 + concentrations decreased with time at all sites (except at La Senia) whilst NO 3 − concentrations increased at all sites during the same period. Rainfall SO 4 2− concentrations decreased with time at all sites. The opposite trends in NO 3 − and SO 4 2− concentrations determined a shift in the relative acid contribution of those anions during the 12–13-year period. To interpret the increasing trend, mean annual NO 3 − concentrations were regressed against NO2 Spanish emissions and to some indicators of local anthropogenic activity. The increase at Sort and Palautordera showed good correlation with local anthropogenic indicators. Wet inorganic N deposition ranged between 4.2 and 6.7 kg ha−1 year−1. When including estimates of dry deposition, total annual deposition rose up to 10–20 kg ha−1 year−1, values that have been found to initiate adverse effects on Mediterranean-type forest ecosystems.

Detecting the impact of the “Grain for Green” program on the mean annual vegetation cover in the Shaanxi province, China using SPOT-VGT NDVI data

In order to reduce the soil erosion rate on the Chinese Loess Plateau, the Chinese government launched in 1999 the “Grain for Green” program (GfG). The objective of this program was to increase the forest cover on steep slopes in the landscape by planting trees and sowing grasses on former cropland. The program was a massive investment by the Chinese government. By the end of 2005 the GfG-program was implemented in an area of 87,000 km 2 in which about 400–600 million trees were planted. At present it is not known to what extent this program was successful. This paper examines the effects of the GfG-program on the mean annual vegetation cover in the Shaanxi province. A decadal time series of SPOT VEGETATION imagery from 1998 till 2005 were used to calculate NDVI-values in four counties with different rainfall regimes. By means of a regression between preceding rainfall and NDVI-values the effects of rainfall variability were filtered out. A trend analysis of the corrected NDVI time series pointed out that the GfG-program resulted in a significant increase of the vegetation cover on farmland in the northern part of Shaanxi province. In the southern part of the province, which has a more humid climate and large areas of irrigation farmland no significant increase of the vegetation cover on farmland could be detected.

Application of an unsteady state environmental distribution model to a decadal time series of PAH concentrations in Central Europe

To explain observed decadal trends in concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil at the Kosetice observatory, Czech Republic, an environmental distribution model for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) based on the fugacity approach was developed. Weekly air concentrations were used as input data for the unsteady state model and concentrations in soil were calculated. In general, agreement between measured and predicted soil concentrations of PAHs was observed. Temporal trends in PAH concentrations in Kosetice can be related to changes in residential heating. Predicted soil concentrations of volatile PAHs namely acenaphthylene, fluorene and phenanthrene are in better correspondence with observed data than concentrations of less volatile PAHs i.e. dibenzo(ah)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene and benzo(ghi)perylene. These discrepancies between model results and field data are probably a result of a simplified description of degradation and aging processes in soil. The results from our dynamic multicompartmental model confirmed our hypothesis about unsteady state conditions between the air and soil, and suggested that a commonly used simple steady state model should be only applied as a predictive tool in a small region when local sources and sinks are well described.

The “BOUSSOLE” Buoy—A New Transparent-to-Swell Taut Mooring Dedicated to Marine Optics: Design, Tests, and Performance at Sea

Abstract A new concept of oceanographic data buoy is described, which couples a taut mooring and a “transparent-to-swell” superstructure, and is specifically designed for the collection of radiometric quantities in offshore environments. The design of the thin superstructure addresses two major requirements: stabilizing the instruments in the water column and avoiding shading them. The development of the buoy is described, starting with the theoretical assessment and then describing the various stages of development leading to the latest version of the mooring and buoy. Its performance at sea is also analyzed. This new platform has been deployed in the deep waters (>2400 m) of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea for about 4 yr (since September 2003) and provides a quasi-continuous record of optical properties at this site. The data are used for bio-optics research and for calibration and validation operations of several European and U.S. ocean color satellite missions. The plan is to continue the deployment to build a decadal time series of optical properties. The instrument suite that is installed on this buoy is also briefly described, and sample results are shown to demonstrate the ability of this new system to collect the data at the desired frequency and quality.

Evidence of fishery depletions and shifting cognitive baselines in Eastern Indonesia

We analyzed fisher interview data collected in the Raja Ampat archipelago of Eastern Indonesia to demonstrate a perceived decline in the abundance of living marine resources targeted by commercial and artisanal fisheries. The decline appeared ubiquitous among all tested species and a clear trend emerged in which older fishers recall greater past abundance than younger fishers. This provides evidence for the shifting baseline syndrome, a dangerous cognitive condition in which each generation of fishery stakeholders accepts a lower standard of resource abundance as normal. We used a fuzzy expert system to standardize and quantify the anecdotal evidence, and combine it with additional depletion indicators to produce a decadal time series of resource abundance from 1970 to present. Using governmental catch-per-unit-effort data from more recent years we hindcasted to establish an absolute scale with which to interpret the perceived decline. The interview information suggested that some exploited species may have declined by as much as an order of magnitude since 1970.

Improved Methods for Analysis of Decadal Elevation-Change Time Series Over Antarctica

In this paper, several techniques to improve the processing and analysis of decadal elevation-change time series (ECTS) constructed using satellite radar altimeter data over the Antarctic ice sheet are described. First, a method that improves both the quality and quantity of ice-sheet ECTS is introduced. By dynamically selecting the reference month used in constructing ECTS for a given local region, the maximum number of elevation-change estimates are used in a matrix processing technique. This can improve ECTS quality while also generating ECTS in new areas, leading to a significant increase in spatial coverage. Next, an improved autoregressive (IAR) approach is presented for modeling nonlinear medium-period variations in decadal Antarctic ECTS. This builds upon previous work where an AR model was used to characterize seasonal and interannual variations in ice-sheet ECTS. The improved approach avoids overdecomposition by adopting an iterative local average filter to estimate nonlinear medium-period trends. Monte Carlo simulations show that the IAR method significantly outperforms the AR method when realistic nonlinear trends are present. Because of these characteristics, the IAR model is able to adequately characterize seasonal, interannual, and medium-period nonlinear signals present in decadal ECTS and extract their long-term trends with very small error. This is important for accurate measurement of decadal elevation change over the Antarctic ice sheet and for assessing the impact of these changes on the global sea level

Satellite data for ocean biology, biogeochemistry, and climate research

Understanding how the effects of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and higher surface temperatures cascade through the ocean's physical and biogeochemical systems is a major theme of NASA's Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Program, and this requires decadal time series of accurate global satellite measurements of key marine biological properties, such as phytoplankton chlorophyll a concentration. Such time series have been a primary NASA objective since the mid‐1980s when the results from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS),a proof‐of‐concept program (sparse global coverage with a limited post‐launch validation program), demonstrated that space‐based retrievals of ocean water‐leaving radiances (Lw's) and chlorophyll a concentrations were sufficiently accurate for quantitative research.

A decade of exploring a submarine intraplate volcano: Hydrothermal manganese and iron at Lō'ihi volcano, Hawai'i

Decadal time series observations of hydrothermal fluid emissions from Lō'ihi volcano were initiated in 1992 using a combination of submersible and shipboard sampling strategies. Magmatic‐tectonic processes associated with a spectacular seismic event in July–August 1996 led to the collapse of Pele's Vents (31°C) near the volcano summit into a new pit crater (Pele's Pit) inundated by high‐temperature (Tmax = 198°C) focused and lower‐temperature (<95°C) diffuse fluid discharge. Variations in the concentrations and relative abundances of vented Fe and Mn characterize the precollapse, summit collapse, and postcollapse periods. The precollapse plume emanating from Pele's Vents had a low rise height (∼35 m) and concentration intensity (<5 nmol/L TDMn, 70 nmol/L TDFe, ∼1.8 km distant) and dispersed to the southwest. Plumes coeval with the 1996 summit collapse were characterized by extreme metal concentrations within Pele's Pit (up to ∼10,000 nmol/L DMn and 400,000 nmol/L TDFe) and nearby East Pit (∼34,000 nmol/L DMn and 120,000 nmol/L TDFe). An intense hydrothermal plume dispersed predominantly to the southwest of the several hundred meter deep pits with concentration anomalies as high as 236 nmol/L DMn and 3,800 nmol/L TDFe measured 9 km distant. Iron and Mn concentrations within the pits decreased >30‐ to 200‐fold ∼1.5 months postcollapse and, during the following year, decreased a further twofold to threefold at Pele's Pit and ∼30‐fold at East Pit. While a steady concentration of ∼400 nmol/L TDFe prevailed throughout the remaining years of this study at Pele's Pit, a gradual and threefold decrease in the concentration of DMn to about 15 nmol/L was observed. High‐temperature fluids (128–198°C 1997–1999, ∼90°C 2001) venting simultaneously from different orifices within Pele's Pit had distinguishable Fe/Mn ratios that can be attributed to different subseafloor origins. Fe/Mn ratios characteristic of fluids moderated by high‐temperature water‐rock reaction had low values in 1997–1998 (1.6 ± 0.7), increasing to about 7 in 1999. Fluids moderated by magmatic degassing of CO2 had much higher Fe/Mn ratios, increasing from 24 ± 15 in 1997–1998 to 50 in 1999 and 63–87 in 2001. Fe/Mn values of dispersing plumes at Lō'ihi reflect an admixture of these sources and a relative Fe abundance that is consistently high compared to mid‐ocean ridge systems. The pulsed injection of Mn and Fe into the surrounding ocean associated with the 1996 tectonic‐magmatic event at Lō'ihi was massive. Our decadal observations confirm that Mn and Fe are useful markers of the magnitude and evolution of the effects of magmatic perturbation on hydrothermal systems influenced by chronic magmatic degassing.

The calibration of wind and wave model data in the Mediterranean Sea

Three sources of long-term wind and wave data are available in the Mediterranean Sea: numerical models, satellites and buoys. We make use of the overall information to obtain calibrated decadal time series at a large number of points, distributed at 0.5° intervals. We discuss the accuracy of the three sources and point out the errors that affect the accuracy of the final results.

Gray whale distribution relative to forage habitat in the northern Bering Sea: current conditions and retrospective summary

Hundreds of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) stranded dead along beaches from Mexico to Alaska in 1999 and 2000. The cause of the mortalities remains unknown, but starvation resulting from a reduction in prey, especially in the Chirikov Basin, was suggested as the cause. In the 1980s, the Chirikov Basin was considered a prime gray whale feeding area, but there has been no recent comprehensive assessment of whale or prey distribution and abundance. In 2002, a 5-day survey for gray whales revealed restricted distribution in the basin and a 3- to 17-fold decline in sighting rates. To put these data in context, a retrospective summary of gray whale and benthic fauna distribution and abundance was undertaken. During the 1980s, gray whale sighting rates in the Chirikov Basin were highly variable. Ampeliscid amphipods dominated the benthos where gray whale sighting rates were highest. Available measures of biomass suggest a downturn in amphipod productivity from 1983 to 2000, when estimates of gray whale population size were increasing, suggesting that the whales simply expanded their foraging range. We encourage long-term study of the Chirikov Basin as a location where predator–prey responses to changing ocean climate can be researched, because decadal time series data are available.

An overview of MODIS capabilities for ocean science observations

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) will add a significant new capability for investigating the 70% of the Earth's surface that is covered by oceans, in addition to contributing to the continuation of a decadal scale time series necessary for climate change assessment in the oceans. Sensor capabilities of particular importance for improving the accuracy of ocean products include high SNR and high stability for narrow or spectral bands, improved onboard radiometric calibration and stability monitoring, and improved science data product algorithms. Spectral bands for resolving solar-stimulated chlorophyll fluorescence and a split window in the 4-/spl mu/m region for SST will result in important new global ocean science products for biology and physics. MODIS will return full global data at 1-km resolution. The complete suite of Levels 2 and 3 ocean products is reviewed, and many areas where MODIS data are expected to make significant, new contributions to the enhanced understanding of the oceans' role in understanding climate change are discussed. In providing a highly complementary and consistent set of observations of terrestrial, atmospheric, and ocean observations, MODIS data will provide important new information on the interactions between Earth's major components.