Automated Atmospheric Correction of Nanosatellites Using Coincident Ocean Color Radiometer Data

The prevailing mission-based paradigm for ocean color remote sensing typically involves high-cost satellite platforms launched and operated by government agencies such as NASA, NOAA, ESA, and JAXA. These platforms host state-of-the-art ocean-viewing radiometers with design and sensitivity specifications appropriate for delineating a comparatively weak water-leaving radiance from the total radiant signal detected at the top of the atmosphere. The current suite of such operational ocean color sensors includes NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradi-ometer (MODIS; Aqua satellite), NOAA’s VIIRS (SNPP and NOAA-20 satellites), the Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OLCI; Sentinel-3 A/B satellites), and the Second-Generation Global Imager (SGLI) onboard the GCOM-C satellite. All of these sensors provide multi-spectral band sets (visible, near-infrared (NIR), and shortwave infrared (SWIR)) with daily coverage at approximately kilometer-scale spatial resolution. However, even kilometer-scale spatial resolution may be unable to resolve finer-scale features near rivers and estuaries that are critical for scientific and environmental resource management applications.