ASSIGNMENT 1

DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING

Ocean Color
Monitoring
Submitted to: Dr. Kartar Singh
(Department of Remote Sensing)

Submitted By: Ekta Baranwal

Roll No. 16004
M.Tech Remote Sensing
Source and cause of ocean colour
When sunlight hits the ocean, some of it is reflected back directly (sunlight), but most of it penetrates
the ocean surface and interacts with the water molecules that it encounters. Most of the light that is
scattered back out of clear, open ocean water is blue while the red portion of the sunlight is quickly
absorbed very near the surface. However, there are many things in addition to just water molecules in
the ocean and these things can change the color that we see. In coastal areas, runoff from rivers,
resuspension of sand and silt from the bottom by tides, waves and storms and a number of other
things can change the color of the near-shore waters.
Ocean colour is dependent on complex interrelationship involving biological, chemical and physical
processes. Chlorophyll pigment concentration is a convenient index of phytoplankton biomass.
However, for most of the world's oceans, the most important things that influence its color are
PHYTOPLANKTON. Phytoplankton are very small, single-celled plants, generally smaller than the
size of a pinhead that contain a green pigment called chlorophyll. All plants (on land and in the ocean)
use chlorophyll to capture energy from the sun and through the process known as photosynthesis
convert water and carbon dioxide into new plant material and oxygen. Although microscopic,
phytoplankton can bloom in such large numbers that they can change the color of the ocean to such a
degree that we can measure that change from space.

Importance of Phytoplankton
It is very important to realize that phytoplankton do a great deal more for us than just give the ocean a
nice green color. There are at least five main points about phytoplankton that we need to understand:
1. Phytoplankton represent the first link in the marine food web:
Like the grass of the fields and the leaves on the trees, most life on earth ultimately depends on plants
for nourishment. In the ocean, microscopic animals called zooplankton graze on the pastures of
plankton. These little animals are ultimately eaten by larger zooplankton, by fish and as amazing as it
may sound, by the largest creature of all - the blue whale.
2. Just like plants on land, phytoplankton require light, water, carbon dioxide and nutrients to
grow:
There is never a shortage of water in the ocean and generally, there is ample light for phytoplankton to
grow in the surface waters. Carbon dioxide is plentiful in the ocean and whenever the supply in the
surface waters goes down because the phytoplankton have used it during photosynthesis, it is
replenished from the atmosphere above. In the ocean, the major limiting factor regulating
phytoplankton growth is the availability of nutrients. Nutrients (nitrates, phosphates, silicates, etc.) are
found in great quantities in the deeper, colder depths of the ocean. Whenever those waters are brought
near the surface, the oceans are essentially fertilized (just like you do to your lawns to green them up)
and the plankton bloom.
The patterns of distribution of phytoplankton that we observe are related to both physical and
biological processes, wherever mixing takes place in the ocean, or where currents bring the colder,
nutrient-rich waters up from the depths, the surface waters will be enriched with added nutrients
which may stimulate phytoplankton growth. In looking at the large-scale distributions of
phytoplankton in the ocean, we can see how closely they are related to areas where nutrients are being
supplied to the surface waters.
 3. Phytoplankton play a key role in the ecology of the marine ecosystem and changes in their
patterns of distribution and abundance can have significant impact on the entire ecosystem:
Because the animals all the way up the food chain ultimately depend on the supply of phytoplankton
at the base, if the plankton disappear, the chain is broken and eventually the animals will suffer. Life
in the ocean is a delicate balance between the physical conditions that set the stage for life to exist,
and the ability of life to act upon that stage.
4. Phytoplankton have a major role in the global carbon cycle:
Although phytoplankton account for approximately 50% of the photosynthesis on this planet, over
99.9% of all the carbon dioxide that has been incorporated into living things over geologic time is
buried in marine sediments, indicating that phytoplankton play a very important part in regulating the
amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
However, not all phytoplankton are green. They come in a variety of shapes and colors and while
most of them are harmless, some can bloom in such large numbers and produce toxins that can be
quite harmful to marine life and in some cases, to humans as well. When phytoplankton growth is
stimulated by an overabundance of nutrients from sources such as sewage discharge or runoff of
agricultural fertilizers used on land, the consequences can be quite serious. Dense blooms of
phytoplankton can essentially block sunlight from reaching the bottom in shallow areas of bays or
estuaries and can cause the massive decline in the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) that has been
taking place in places like Chesapeake Bay. These grasses are vital nursery grounds for many species
of fish and invertebrates and their loss can have dire ecological results. In addition, when these
blooms die and the plankton sink to the bottom, bacterial decomposition of all this organic matter
essentially strips the water of oxygen. Fish, shellfish and most other living things require oxygen to
survive and decaying phytoplankton blooms have been the cause of many massive fish kills over the
years. Of the phytoplankton that can be directly harmful on their own, the most commonly known
form of these, dinoflagellates, are the source of red tides.
Ocean optics
Ocean monitoring in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum:

The satellite spectrometers don't measure the chlorophyll concentrations directly, but rather the visible
light that is backscattered from the surface ocean.
For example: the rainbow is the separation of visible light within the electromagnetic spectrum. Each
color has an associated wavelength: the longer wavelength is closer to red, while the shorter
wavelength is closer to violet.
The ocean is blue because water absorbs the wavelengths in the spectrum longer than blue.
As the suns light (solar radiation) is transmitted through the earths atmosphere to the ocean, the light
rays will be scattered and some will be absorbed by the atmosphere. The visible light that reaches the
earths surface is reflected back into space. These reflected wavelengths are then measured by the
satellite sensors.

What is ocean colour monitoring and why it is required?

The ocean hosts a fundamental component of Earths biosphere. Marine organisms play a pivotal role
in the cycling of lifes building blocks such as nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, silica, and sulphur. About
half of the global primary productionthe process by which CO2 is taken up by plants and converted
to new organic matter by photosynthesisoccurs in the ocean. Most of the primary producers in the
ocean comprise microscopic plants and some bacteria; these photosynthetic organisms
(phytoplankton) form the base of the oceans food web. Scientists are exploring how future climate
change and sea surface warming might impact the overall abundance of phytoplankton. A long-term
change in phytoplankton biomass would have major implications for the oceans ability to take up
atmospheric CO2 and support current rates of fish production. Therefore, sustaining a global record of
the abundance of phytoplankton and their contribution to global primary productivity is required to
assess the overall health of the ocean, which is currently threatened by multiple stresses such as
increased temperature and ocean acidification (both due to anthropogenic CO2 emissions), marine
pollution, and overfishing.

Measuring the Ocean Color

Deriving biological parameters from ocean color measurements is a multi-stage process. Ocean color
radiometric sensors measure the upwelling radiance at the top of the atmosphere (LTOA). LTOA is
the
total radiances from three sources: water-leaving radiance (Lw) radiance reflected from the sea surface
(surface-reflected radiance), and radiance scattered into the viewing direction by the atmosphere along
the path between the sensor and sea surface (atmospheric path radiance). Of these three radiance
sources, the desired measurement is Lw, referred to in this report simply as ocean color. Lw carries
information about the biological and chemical constituents in the near-surface waters. To obtain Lw, it
is necessary to deduce and remove the contributions of surface reflection and atmospheric path
radiance from the measured total, a process known as atmospheric correction. This is difficult because
Lw is no more than 10 percent of LTOA.
Ocean colour monitoring from space
Because the ocean covers roughly 70 percent of Earths surface, ships alone cannot collect
observations rapidly enough to provide a global synoptic view of phytoplankton abundance. Only
since the launch of the first ocean color satellite (the Coastal Zone Color Scanner [CZCS] in 1978)
has it been possible to obtain a global view of the oceans phytoplankton biomass in the form of
chlorophyll. These observations led to improved calculations of global ocean primary production, as
well as better understanding of the processes affecting how biomass and productivity change within
the ocean basins at daily to inter-annual time scales.
The basic principle behind the remote sensing of ocean color from space is this; The more
phytoplankton in the water, the greener it is; the less phytoplankton, the bluer it is.
But what we really want to know is "how much phytoplankton is there"? and also "how does the
distribution and abundance of phytoplankton change in time and space?".
The prime objective of ocean-colour remote sensing is quantitative estimation of the ocean water
constituents from the spectrum of the solar reflected radiation from the ocean waters. In the solar
radiation incident on the Earths surface, only the VIS-NIR part of the spectrum (~ 400 to 700 nm)
penetrates into water. This radiation, after entering into the water, undergoes multiple scattering and
absorption by water molecules and the ocean water constituents and a small of this radiation part is
scattered out of water, which is detected by the remote sensing sensors in space. From this radiance -
called water-leaving radiance - detected in a selected set of wave bands, the concentrations of the
water constituents are estimated through a retrieval procedure.

Four levels of processing of satellite data:

Level 0: Raw data as measured directly from the spacecraft in engineering units (e.g., volts or digital
counts).

Level 1: Level 0 data converted to TOA radiance using pre-launch sensor calibration and
characterization information adjusted during the life of the mission by vicarious calibration and
stability monitoring. For scientific applications, and in particular to generate Climate Data Records
(CDRs), it is essential to archive Level 0 data, pre-launch calibration and characterization
information, and post-launch calibration and stability monitoring data to enable periodic reprocessing
of the raw data.
Note: CDRs have been defined as time-series of measurements of sufficient length, consistency, and
continuity to determine climate variability and change,

Level 2: Level 2 data are generated from Level 1 data following atmospheric correction that are in the
same satellite viewing coordinates as Level 1 data (i.e., the data have not been mapped to a standard
map projection or placed on a grid). Level 2 data include Lw and derived products. Satellite viewing
angles and other information are used to map any single Level 2 scene to a standard map projection.
Lw or ocean color radiance is generated from Level 1 radiance following atmospheric correction.
Atmospheric correction for optically deep water3 requires sensor measurements at near and short
wave infrared wavelengths, ancillary measurements such as sea-level atmospheric pressure and wind
speed, and models of atmospheric aerosol properties. The resulting measurement of ocean color
radiance is a well-defined geophysical property whose measurement adheres to national and
international standards.
Ocean color radiance is considered the fundamental product from which all other ocean color
products are derived.

Level 3: Level 3 products are those that have been mapped to a known cartographic projection or
placed on a two-dimensional grid at known spatial resolution. Level 0, 1, and 2 products are expressed
in satellite coordinates and are not particularly useful to most applications of satellite data. Level 3
data products are often aggregated over time or space. These products are widely disseminated to
scientific
and operational users.
Level 4: Although gridded satellite data provide far better coverage in space and time than is possible
with in situ data, most users want to validate such maps independently for their regions of study
through comparisons with in situ data. Results derived from a combination of satellite data and
ancillary information, such as ecosystem model output, are called Level 4 products.

Past and Present Global Sensors for Ocean Color Monitoring

1. CZCS:

The Coastal Zone Color Scanner Experiment (CZCS) was the first instrument devoted to the
measurement of ocean color and flown on a spacecraft (NIMBUS 7) on 24 th October 1978 and
last on 22nd July 1986.
CZCS had six spectral bands ranging from 0.433 to 12.5 micro-meter, four of which were
used primarily for ocean color from 0.433 to 0.680 micro-meter.
CZCS measurements had 8-bit radiometric resolution, swath was 1556km centred on nadir
and spatial resolution was 0.825km at nadir.
The most important objective of CZCS mission was to determine if satellite remote sensing of
color could be used to identify and quantify material suspended or dissolved in ocean water.
Specifically, CZCS attempted to discriminate between organic and inorganic materials in the
ocean water, determining the quantity of material and discriminate between different organic
particulate types.

2. OCTS:

Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner (OCTS) is an optical radiometer devoted to the
frequent global measurement of ocean color and sea surface temperature.
OCTS is a successor to CZCS, on board the ADEOS satellite (Japan) operated from 17 th
August 1996 to 1st July 1997.
OCTS has 12 spectral bands; 8 in visible & NIR and 4 bands in thermal region with spatial
resolution of 700m covering 1400 km swath width (with scanning mirror west-east).
OCTS also scans south and north; can observe the entire earth surface for 3 days.
It mainly serves as an observation sensor of the ocean conditions, including chlorophyll and
dissolved substances in the water, temperature profile and cloud formation processes.

3. SeaWiFS:

Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View (SeaWiFS) is the sensor and only scientific payload of
SeaStar satellite, launched on 1st August 1997 by NASA.
It acquires data in eight spectral bands, from 0.402 to 0.885 micro-meter with revisit time of 1
day.
It covers swath of 2801km LAC and 1502km GAC having spatial resolution of 1.1km LAC
and 4.5km GAC respectively.

4. OCM-Oceansat 1 &2:
 Ocean color monitor (OCM) is a sensor literally designed to monitor the color of the ocean
with temporal resolution of 2 days and swath of 1420 km.
It is capable of detecting eight spectrums ranging from 0.400 to 0.885 micro-meter (B1 to B8)
in the spatial resolution of 360m*236m LAC and 1km GAC.
OCM is the sensor in two satellites dedicated to ocean application i.e. Oceansat 1 and
Oceansat 2, launched on 26th May 1999 and 23rd September 2009 respectively.
Oceansat 1 is the first satellite launched by ISRO India for ocean applications.

5. MODIS-Terra and Aqua:

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) is a key instrument aboard the

Terra (originally known as EOS AM-1) and Aqua (originally known as EOS PM-1) satellites.
Terra was launched on 18th December 1999 and Aqua on 4th May 2002.
Both are viewing the entire Earths surface every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral
bands whose spatial resolution ranges from 250 m to 1000m with swath 2330 km (cross tack)
by 10 km (along track at nadir).
Terras orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from north to south across the equator
(descending node) in morning i.e. 10:30 A.M., while Aqua passes south to north over the
equator (ascending node) in the afternoon i.e. 1:30 P.M.
The spectral bands used for ocean color or phytoplankton ranges from 0.405 to 0.877 micro-
meter (B8 to B16) with spatial resolution of 1000m.

6. MERIS:

MERIS is a programmable, medium-spectral resolution imaging spectrometer (MERIS)

operating in solar reflective spectral range.
MERIS is designed so that it can acquire data over the Earth including Land (Vegetation),
Ocean & Coast (Ocean color/Biology) and Atmosphere (Clouds/Precipitation).
Its spatial resolution is 1040m*1200m for Ocean and 260m*300m for land & coast; covers
1150km of swath.
MERIS was launched on 1st March 2002 on board Envisat-1 (Europe).
MERIS has fifteen spectral bands ranging from 0.390 to 1.040 micro-meter; all bands are
programmable in width between 1.25 and 30 nm.
MERIS instrument was primarily designed for measuring ocean color, but is widely used in
the European scientific community for a global environmental monitoring system.

7. GLI:

Global Imager (GLI) is an optical sensor developed by NASDA Japan, carried on board
ADEOS-2 satellite, launched on 14th December 2002 and last on 24th October 2003.
The GLI is equipped with 36 spectral channels from 0.375 to 12.5 micro-meter (visible to IR)
wavelengths with spatial resolution of 1km for global coverage from which there are six
channels with 250 m resolution.
Most of the channels are used for ocean color observations and the other applications are for
land, atmosphere and cryosphere, covering the swath width of 1600km.
Bands for ocean color observations are: B1 to B12, B14, B16, B18, B30, B34 to B36; all are
of 1km spatial resolution.
8. VIIRS:

Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is a scanning radiometer which collects
visible and imagery and radiometric measurements of the land, atmosphere, cryosphere, and
oceans.
Launched on 28th October 2011, on board NPP and JPSS satellite.
Spectral bands ranges from 0.402 to 12.4 micro-meter; 16 moderate (M) bands with spatial
resolution of 750m at nadir, 5 imagery (I) bands with 375m spatial resolution, 1 day-night
band (DNB) or near constant contrast (NCC) band with 750m spatial resolution.
VIIRS produces higher-resolution and more accurate measurements of sea surface
temperature, as well as an operational capability for ocean-color observations and products
with swath width of maximum 3000km.
VIIRSs DNB provides night time imagery.

9. OLCI:

Sentinal-3 Ocean and Land color instrument (OLCI) is based on the opto-mechanical and
imaging design of ENVISATs MERIS instrument, launched on 16th February 2016.
The OLCI is a push-broom instrument with five camera modules sharing the FOV (each with
a 14.1 degree FOV).
The OLCI swath is 1270km which is not centred at nadir and spatial resolution is 300m (full
resolution) and 1200m (reduced resolution).
Number of spectral bands are 21 which covers the bandwidth from 0.400 to 1.02 micro-meter.
The main objective of the Sentinal-3 mission is to measure sea surface topography, sea and
land surface temperature, and ocean and land surface color in the continuity of ENVISAT
Ocean Observation.
Applications of ocean colour or ocean colour monitoring
Research Applications for Ocean Color Products: -
1. Climate and Biogeochemical Research Applications:
How does the oceans biology affect the carbon cycle and other biogeochemical cycles?
How is the global marine phytoplankton biomass changing in response to short-term climate
variability and long-term climate trends?
How does ocean color affect radiative heat transfer in the climate system?
How variable in space and time are plant physiology and functional groups?

2. Fisheries and Ecosystem-Based Management:

How does environmental variability affect fish stocks and ecosystem health?
How to assess the impact of climate change on fisheries?
How to characterize ocean habitats remotely?
How to manage protected species?

Near-Real Time Applications for Ocean Color Products: -

1. Military Applications
2. Monitoring of Oil Spills
3. Detection and Early Warning of Harmful Algal
4. Blooms
5. Locating Productive Fishing Areas
6. Identifying Areas with Potential for Marine Debris
7. Convergence
8. Cruise Support