Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer
A Multi-Depth Underwater Spectroradiometer for Validation of Remotely-Sensed Ocean Color and Estimation of Seawater Biogeochemical Properties
Project Description
Remote sensing of optical properties of coastal waters provides essential information for various scientific questions & applications as monitoring biological biomass & productivity, biogeochemical carbon cycling, pollution, ecosystem health. OKSI, with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, propose developing a novel submersible instrument that provides simultaneous multi-depth (0-10 m) measurements of upwelling & downwelling radiative fluxes in the UV-VIS-NIR at high spectral resolution. The measurements are needed to support ocean color algorithm development, validation, & application to remote sensing measurement for the retrieval of biochemical & optical ocean parameters. All electronics components will be above water & the submersible will require no power or electronics. In Phase I underwater radiative transfer analysis will be conducted to establish the science requirements & translate those into sensor design. The submersible sensor system will be designed and modeled to assure that it meets the science requirements of SNR, dynamic range, & spectral resolution. Calibration procedures will be established to assure high data quality. In Phase-II the prototype instrument will be built and tested at sea & data compared to other SIO instruments. The proposed system will quantify the underwater downwelling irradiance and upwelling radiance through simultaneous measurements at several depths (plus the downwelling irradiance incident upon the sea surface), filling a major gap in technological capabilities for providing accurate light field determinations at the ocean surface from data taken within optically dynamic near-surface ocean layer. In this layer, the usage of commercial radiometers and common measurement strategies is typically inadequate. This proposed development will improve retrievals of remote-sensing reflectance and consequently information about in-water constituents/properties. The project outcome at the end of Phase-II will be at TRL 6.
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Anticipated Benefits
The importance of the oceans and coastal waters to the planet's ecosystem and food resources will require increasing level of global and local monitoring and control of such resources (by governments and international agencies). The submersible instrumentation package proposed herein has applications in maritime operations, fisheries management, water quality monitoring, littoral and coastal zone management. With its ability to simultaneously measure the upwelling and downwelling spectral radiative fluxes, this sensor will avoid the inaccuracies with today's single point sensors. This ability addresses a major gap in today's sensors by providing the data required for improved algorithms to estimate in-water constituents/properties. Hence this instrument has a broad appeal to the science community as a whole, and to monitoring agencies.
NASA has a major role in the study of global climate and its impact on natural environments including oceanic biogeochemical cycling, and health of various pelagic and benthic ecosystems. The world's oceans play a crucial role in maintaining the health of the planet's ecosystems and serve as a valuable current and future food source for humankind. The oceans provide the only means of subsistence for many communities around the world, particularly the expanding coastal populations. The instrumentation package will be marketed to investigators in the government, academia, and international agencies that are involved in the study of oceans, coastal regions, and littoral regions of the globe. The proposed technology supports present NASA systems such as MODIS, SeaWIFS, MERIS, LandSat7, and future GEO-CAPS, HyspIRI, also various NASA/NOAA programs. It also expands on capabilities that are provided by the Marine Optical Buoy (MOBY) ocean color vicarious calibration observatory via on-site and on-demand calibration. More »
NASA has a major role in the study of global climate and its impact on natural environments including oceanic biogeochemical cycling, and health of various pelagic and benthic ecosystems. The world's oceans play a crucial role in maintaining the health of the planet's ecosystems and serve as a valuable current and future food source for humankind. The oceans provide the only means of subsistence for many communities around the world, particularly the expanding coastal populations. The instrumentation package will be marketed to investigators in the government, academia, and international agencies that are involved in the study of oceans, coastal regions, and littoral regions of the globe. The proposed technology supports present NASA systems such as MODIS, SeaWIFS, MERIS, LandSat7, and future GEO-CAPS, HyspIRI, also various NASA/NOAA programs. It also expands on capabilities that are provided by the Marine Optical Buoy (MOBY) ocean color vicarious calibration observatory via on-site and on-demand calibration. More »
Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opto-Knowledge Systems, Inc. (OKSI) (OKSI) | Lead Organization | Industry | Torrance, California |
Stennis Space Center
(SSC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Stennis Space Center, Mississippi |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
California
-
Mississippi
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This is a historic project that was completed before the creation of TechPort on October 1, 2012. Available data has been included. This record may contain less data than currently active projects.