Ocean suspended sediment concentration Measurements Made by Earth Observation Satellites

CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS

Measurements > Ocean >
Ocean colour/biology >
Ocean suspended sediment concentration

Measurement Definition*: Parameter extracted from ocean colour observation. Indicative of river outflow, re-suspension or pollution of other-than-biological origin. Requested in both open ocean and coastal zone - Physical unit: [ g/m3 ] - Accuracy unit: [ % ] at a specific concentration (e.g., 2 g/m3).

Instrument	Status/ Accuracy	Instrument Description	Measurement Technology	Timeline
CZI Coastal Zone Imager	Operational	Imagery of coastal regions - estuaries, tidal regions, etc.	Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
HSI-2 (HJ-2A) Hyper Spectrum Imager 2	Operational	Hyperspectral measurements for environment and disaster management operations.	Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
MERSI Medium Resolution Spectral Imager	Operational	Measurement of vegetation indexes and ocean colour.	Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
MERSI-2 Improved Medium Resolution Spectral Imager	Operational	Measurement of vegetation indexes and ocean colour.	Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
MERSI-LL Medium Resolution Spectral Imager - Low-Light	Operational	Measurement of vegetation indexes and ocean colour.	Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
MERSI-S Improved Medium Resolution Spectral Imager - Simplified	Operational	Measurement of vegetation indexes and ocean colour.	Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
MODIS MODerate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer	Operational	Data on biological and physical processes on the surface of the Earth and in the lower atmosphere, and on global dynamics. Surface temperatures of land and ocean, chlorophyll fluorescence, land cover measurements, cloud cover (day and night).	n/a
OLCI Ocean and Land Colour Imager	Operational	Marine and land services.	n/a
SGLI Second-generation Global Imager	Operational +/-100 %	Medium resolution multi-spectral imaging of land, ocean and atmosphere. SGLI-VNR is an optical sensor capable of multi-channel nadir observation at wavelengths from near-UV to NIR and forward or backward polarization observation at red and near infrared wavelengths (Push-broom scanning). SGLI-IRS is an optical sensor capable of multi-channel nadir observation at wavelengths from SWIR to TIR wavelengths (Cross-track scanning).	n/a
GLIMR Instrument Geosynchronous Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer (GLIMR)	Being developed	GLIMR will make observations of rapidly evolving phytoplankton dynamics and hazards such as Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and other selected coastal regions of North and South America	Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
OCI Ocean Color Instrument	Being developed	Ocean color slit-grating imaging spectrometer/radiometer for measuring top of atmosphere reflectance which is used to estimate ocean leaving light that contains information on biological components plus aerosol and cloud propertiesl	n/a
MERSI-3 Improved Medium Resolution Spectral Imager - 3	Approved	Measurement of vegetation indexes and ocean colour.	Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer
VIS-NIR Multi-spectral Optical Camera - Visible & Near Infrared	Approved	Ocean Colour - Open ocean, coastal & in-land waters.	n/a

* Description adapted from WMO.