NASA Ocean Color Update

[genecarlfeldman]

Members of the Ocean Color Community, 

Greetings.  I wanted to send a summary of the issues raised and discussed at the Ocean Color Research Team Meeting last week.  The meeting had a final count of nearly 200 people, all of which helped to make the meeting a great success and open dialogue on current and future planning for ocean color research. 

Several items of note came out of the meeting, the first being formation of working groups on specific measurements, data products, and algorithm selection.  The goal of these working groups is to provide input (from the community) on which ocean biology and biogeochemistry measurements or data products they would like the ocean biology processing group to produce, and then select which algorithm should be implemented to produce the respective data products.  This data product and algorithm selection model (a community-based round robin) follows the SeaWiFS-type model for data product selection.  

SeaDAS has always allowed the user to produce another product or implement another algorithm beyond the ones that are currently used in operational production should they so choose, and in fact, already contains a great many alternative output products and algorithms available for use.  Products already submitted for consideration by the Data Product Working Group include:  Particulate Organic Carbon (POC), Total Suspended Material (TSM), Primary Production, Colored Dissolved Organic Material (CDOM), AOPs, IOPs, Chlorophyll a, Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC), Particulate Inorganic Carbon (PIC), and Chlorophyll Fluorescence. 

Anyone is welcome to join any of these working groups.  I am organizing E-mail lists for each group to get each up and running, and will have the kick-off E-mail for each group out today.  While I will be overseeing the efforts of each of these working groups, I would like each group to think about designating a leader or co-leads to organize each group's efforts.  I expect members of the MODIS and NPP teams for ocean color to join the appropriate group(s).       

Beginning next week, the Ocean Biology Processing Group at NASA Goddard will reprocess Aqua MODIS data using the current baseline product suite.  Once these data are reprocessed, the information detailing the reprocessing will be posted on line for your review (https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/).  At that time I expect the respective Data Product Working Groups to review the necessary information and provide input to the Ocean Biology Processing Group on the quality of the data products.  If there is a Data Product Working Group that does not have a specified product at this time, then I would expect the specific Working Group to develop a dialogue and efforts that work towards an agreed upon algorithm that the Ocean Biology Processing Group could implement and fold into their processing schedule. 

Unlike in the past, a product-specific reprocessing of the entire mission is something that they will be able to implement as the product algorithms become available and some initial verification and validation tests are run in collaboration with the Working Group.  The Working Groups will also need to come up with a plan for more formal validation of their product.  The appropriate forum for discussion is the "Questions" tab of the ocean color home page, also known as the Ocean Color Forum.  Discussions that occur there are free and open to the community.       

The Data Products that have been identified for a Working Group are the start to a suite of data products that will become the official suite of NASA Ocean Color Data Products for ocean biology and biogeochemistry.  This is a dynamic set of products that are currently under revision and refinement.  Please let your requests be known.       

In addition to the Working Groups on Data Products, I am forming a Working Group on Calibration and Validation.  This Working Group is open to the community.  This group will also work closely with the Ocean Biology Processing Group to improve NASA's capability for ocean color sensor calibration and data validation during ocean color missions.  The validation plan for each data product (and associated Working Group) should interact with the Cal/Val Group to maximize quality of each data product.  In addition, I would like to hold a Workshop to develop a plan for a robust cal/val program for the Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry program, including the requirements for coastal cal/val sometime in 2004.  I am in the midst of looking for a few persons to organize this workshop.  I will send updates via this E-mail listing.  We will need to find a location as well as a date ASAP.       

The draft report from the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy is out and available on the web for public comment.  I highly encourage you to take a look at the report and provide feedback to the Commission (https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/oceancommission/).  The report is long, but key to the future of ocean science research and operations in the U.S. for the next few decades.  There is an Executive Summary and series of Recommendations available if you time is short, but I encourage you to review and provide comment on the entire document.       

Other reports that may be of interest that will drive future ocean research in the U.S. include the U.S. GCRP Carbon Cycle Science Program's Ocean Carbon and Climate Change Implementation Strategy, and the U.S. GCRP Climate Change Science Program Office's North American Carbon Program.

Thank you, again, to everyone who helped to make this meeting a successful one.       

Best wishes,
        Paula

Dr. Paula Bontempi
Manager, Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Programs
Office of Earth Science
NASA Headquarters
paula.s.bontempi@nasa.gov