| CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MEASUREMENTS
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Measurements > Ocean >
Ocean colour/biology
  | Remote sensing measurements of ocean colour (i.e. the detection of phytoplankton pigments) provide the only global-scale focus on the biology and productivity of the ocean’s surface layer. Phytoplankton are microscopic plants that live in the ocean, and like terrestrial plants, they contain the pigment chlorophyll, which gives them their greenish colour. Different shades of ocean colour reveal the presence of differing concentrations of sediments, organic materials and phytoplankton. The ocean over regions with high concentrations of phytoplankton is shaded from blue-green to green, depending on the type and density of the phytoplankton population. From space, satellite sensors can distinguish even slight variations in colour which cannot be detected by the human eye. | |
| Detailed Measurement | Description* | Instruments | Timeline |
| Color dissolved organic matter (CDOM) | Former name: “Yellow substance absorbance”. Parameter extracted from ocean colour observation. Indicative of biomass undergoing decomposition processes. Requested in both open ocean and coastal zone - Physical unit: [ m-1 ] - Accuracy unit: [ % ] at a specific concentration (e.g., 1 m-1). | 13 instruments |  |
Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC)
Link:   | The cumulated concentration of inorganic carbon species (dissolved carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, bicarbonate and carbonate) in solution - Units Mol. Kg-1 | 0 instruments | |
Ocean chlorophyll concentration
Link: | Indicator of living phytoplankton biomass, extracted from ocean colour observation - Uncertainty is expressed in mg/m3 for a given concentration of 1 mg/m3 - Measuring Units mg/m3, Uncertainty Units mg/m3 | 23 instruments | |
Ocean subsurface dissolved oxygen concentration
Link: | Concentration of dissolved oxygen - Measuring Units Mol. Kg^-1, Uncertainty Units Mol. Kg^-1 | 0 instruments | |
Ocean subsurface tracers
Link: | Concentration of trace molecules such as tritium and CFCs - Measuring Units Mol. Kg^-1, Uncertainty Units Mol. Kg^-1 | 0 instruments | |
| Ocean suspended sediment concentration | 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). | 13 instruments | |
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* Description adapted from WMO.
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