This proposal is in response to the NASA Research Announcement ROSES-2006 (NNH06ZDA001N-EOS) with Earth Science Research Program item A.15 titled �Earth System Science Research Using Data and Products from Terra, Aqua, and ACRIMSAT Satellites�. The proposed research works are directly related to the NASA Science Outcomes items 3A.3 �Progress in quantifying global land cover change and terrestrial and marine productivity, and in improving carbon cycle and ecosystem models� and 3A.5 �Progress in understanding the role of oceans, atmosphere, and ice in the climate system and improving predictive capability for its future evolution.� The proposed research activities are combinations of 3.1 and 3.2 type proposals under NASA ROSES-2006 item A.15.
The focus of this proposal is for continuing research works on maintaining, modifying, and refining the current MODIS atmospheric correction algorithm, and continuing efforts on evaluation and assessment of the VIIRS algorithms for the derivation of the ocean color products. The principal investigator (PI) will continue to serve as a science team member for both the NASA NPP VIIRS and EOS MODIS ocean science teams. The objectives are to refine the current MODIS algorithm for a better performance in the open oceans and to develop new approaches in atmospheric correction for the coastal regions where the MODIS and VIIRS algorithms are likely to have problems due to the effects of the strongly absorbing aerosols as well as problems with non-zero reflectance at the near-infrared bands (e.g., cases for the turbid waters). There have been some significant progresses in algorithm development for the coastal regions. In particular, the algorithm using the short wave infrared (SWIR) bands has been developed and demonstrated using the MODIS measurements for dealing with the turbid waters in the coastal regions. The SWIR method can also be applied to the VIIRS since both MODIS and VIIRS have very similar SWIR spectral band characteristics. Validations for the SWIR band approach using in situ data from dedicated field campaigns in the U.S. east coastal regions are proposed in here. Specifically, the in situ spectral water-leaving radiance data covering spectral bands from the shorter visible to the near-infrared (NIR) wavelength will be acquired in the turbid waters for the algorithm validation and development purposes. In addition, it is proposed to continue efforts in assessment of uncertainties for the MODIS and VIIRS atmospheric correction algorithms for the ocean color products for various effects. These will lead to identify needed algorithm refinements and modifications for further improving data quality of the satellite-derived ocean color products.
