Ocean color chlorophyll-a unit

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karnanc6
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Ocean color chlorophyll-a unit

by karnanc6 » Fri Jun 09, 2023 5:18 am America/New_York

Satellite sensors (e.g. MODIS AQUA) observe the surface/optical depth. How does it provide chlorophyll-a concentration data in cubic meter (m³)?

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OB.DAAC - SeanBailey
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Re: Ocean color chlorophyll-a unit

by OB.DAAC - SeanBailey » Mon Jun 12, 2023 6:05 pm America/New_York

The measurement of chlorophyll concentration is indeed a volumetric measurement, thus the units of milligrams per cubic meter. The algorithm employed can relate the observed surface reflectance spectrum to a chlorophyll concentration as it was developed using coincident in situ measurements of remote sensing reflectance and chlorophyll concentration. It is thus an empirical algorithm.

Regards,
Sean

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