Abstract
Satellite water colour image data can now be used to show the spatial patterns of coastal and ocean water properties, especially surface chlorophyll concentration, on scales covering from kilometers to the entire globe. The repeated coverage shows weekly, seasonal and longer term variability, and provides a unique resource for regions where in-situ data sources are scarce, as is the case for most waters round the continent of Africa. Easy access to extensive data sets of satellite-measured chlorophyll, characterized through the average absorption and scattering properties of phytoplankton, and through natural fluorescence, are now available from Goddard Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure (GIOVANNI), developed by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and other data systems. In addition, data such as the MCI index from MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), available by the European Space Agency (ESA), derived using spectral bands near 700 nm in the near-infrared part of the spectrum, provide further information on blooms and aquatic vegetation. We present here results of satellite observations of various African seas, showing some of the variety of observations and time series results possible.
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Available at http://las.pfeg.noaa.gov/oceanWatch/oceanwatch.php
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Canadian federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and by the Canadian Space Agency. MODIS satellite data are made available by NASA, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration. MERIS image data are made available by the European Space Agency, ESA. Time series analysis of MERIS data is made possible by the G-POD system of ESA. Some analyses and visualizations used in this study were produced with the Giovanni online data system, developed and maintained by the NASA GES DISC.
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Gower, J., King, S. (2014). Satellite Water Colour Observations in African Seas. In: Barale, V., Gade, M. (eds) Remote Sensing of the African Seas. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8008-7_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8008-7_2
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