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At least 55 records · Page 3

Advanced study of global oceanographic requirements for EOS A/B: Appendix volume

Tables and graphs are presented for a review of oceanographic studies using satellite-borne instruments. The topics considered include sensor requirements, error analysis for wind determination from glitter pattern measurements, coverage frequency plots, ground station rise and set times, a technique for reduction and analysis of ocean spectral data, rationale for the selection of a 2 PM descending orbit, and a priority analysis.

Source record↗

A survey of oceanographic satellite altimetric missions

Consideration is given to the potential benefits of satellite altimetry measurements for oceanographic studies. The technical specifications and instrument payloads of past and future satellite altimetric satellite missions are described in a table. The missions include SKYLAB (1973); GEOS-3 (1975); and SEASAT (1978). Consideration is also given to the NROSS (1988); GEOSAT-4 (1984); and POSEIDON (1987-88) satellite missions.

Born, G. H.↗

Tidal Energy Resource Characterization, Velocity and Turbulence Measurements, Processed Data, Cook Inlet, AK, 2021

This submission contains processed datasets from a long-term deployment of 3 moorings and a transect survey of the proposed tidal energy site off the East Forelands in Cook Inlet, AK. The long-term mooring datasets were created from 8 instruments mounted on a Terrasond High Energy Oceanographic Mooring (THEOM) bottom lander and two Mid-Water Mooring (MWM) Stablemoor buoys from 1 July 2021 to 31 August 2021 (60 days). The west-most mooring (MWM1) was deployed at 60.720225 N, 151.436196 W in ~50 m of water. The middle mooring (THEOM) was deployed at 60.720703 N, 151.429500 W in ~52 m of water. The east-most buoy (MWM2) was deployed at 60.720081 N, 151.420896 W in ~50 m of water. Each Stablemoor carried three instruments: 1. A Nortek Vector acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) mounted at the Stablemoor's nose. Data were recorded at 8 Hz on a 5 minute duty cycle every 20 minutes. Data was motion-corrected using the internal IMU and external ADCP bottom-track data and then bin-averaged into 4 minute bins and converted to the Principal (streamwise, cross-stream, vertical) coordinate system. (Note: 30 seconds were trimmed from the beginning and end of each 5 minute duty cycle to account for the filter end-effects from turning on and turning off the IMU.) 2. A down-looking Nortek Signature 1000 kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) mounted in the first Stablemoor instrument well. Data were recorded in 2 Hz with 5-beam burst and bottom-track enabled. Processed data has been averaged into 10 minute bins and converted into the Principal coordinate system. 3. An up-looking Nortek Signature 1000 kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) mounted in the second Stablemoor instrument well. Data were recorded at 4 Hz with 5 beam burst enabled. Processed data has been averaged into 10 minute bins and converted into the Principal coordinate system. Note: the down-facing ADCP on MWM1 failed on July 10th, 2021, only recording 9 days of data. Because ADV motion-correction required bottom track, the ADV from MWM1 also only has 9 days processed. Additionally, only 25 days of data were processed from the MWM2 ADV because it appeared to have been impacted by debris on 7/25. Two instruments were mounted on the THEOM (see MHKDR link further below for THEOM raw data): 4. A Nortek Vector acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV). Data were recorded at 8 Hz on a 5 minute duty cycle every 20 minutes. Data was bin-averaged into 5 minute bins, and converted to the Principal coordinate system. 5. A Nortek Signature 500 kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). Data were recorded in 4 Hz in the beam coordinate system from all 5 beams. Processed data has been averaged into 10 minutes bins and converted to the Principal coordinate system.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Initial testing of wave energy powered UV-C LED anti-biofouling system (CRADA 523)

3newable is requesting technical assistance for laboratory testing at the Marine and Coastal Research (MCRL) Laboratory of a UV-C LED anti-biofouling system. Ocean observing sensors provide critical data sources from deployed buoys and other platforms at sea. However, in addition to the availability of reliable power sources, biofouling of sensors and instruments is a limiting factor for operation and maintenance of deployed instruments. In collaboration with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Ocean Observatories Initiative, 3newable has developed a novel solution to overcome these challenges and extend the deployment period of buoy-mounted sensors. The 3newable system co-locates wave energy converters to supply UV-C LED anti-biofouling units on powered buoy arrays. MCRL staff will implement an experiment to evaluate the efficacy of 3newable’s device under test for inhibiting growth of organisms on test coupons in a flow through seawater tank.

42 ENGINEERING↗

LANDSAT menhaden and thread herring resources investigation

The author has identified the following significant results. The relationship between the distribution of menhaden and selected oceanographic parameters (water color, turbidity, and possibly chlorophyll concentrations) was established. Similar relationships for thread herring were not established nor were relationships relating to the abundance of either species. Use of aircraft and LANDSAT remote sensing instruments to measure or infer a set of basic oceanographic parameters was evaluated. Parameters which could be accurately inferred included surface water temperature, salinity, and color. Water turbidity (Secchi disk) was evaluated as marginally inferrable from the LANDSAT MSS data and chlorophyll-a concentrations as less than marginal. These evaluations considered the parameters only as experienced in the two test areas using available sensors and statistical techniques.

Kemmerer, A. J.↗

SeaWiFS Postlaunch Technical Report Series: The Fifth Sea-WiFS Intercalibration Round-Robin Experiment (SIRREX-5), July 1996 - Volume 7

This report documents the fifth Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Intercalibration Round-Robin Experiment (SIRREX-5), which was held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on 23-30 July 1996. The agenda for SIRREX-5 was established based on recommendations made during SIRREX-4. For the first time in a SIRREX activity, instrument intercomparisons were performed at field sites, which were near NIST. The goals of SIRREX-5 were to continue the emphasis on training and the implementation of standard measurement practices, investigate the calibration methods and measurement chains in use by the oceanographic community, provide opportunities for discussion, and intercompare selected instruments. As at SIRREX-4, the day was divided between morning lectures and afternoon laboratory exercises. A set of core laboratory sessions were performed: 1) in-water radiant flux measurements; 2) in-air radiant flux measurements; 3) spectral radiance responsivity measurements using the plaque method; 4) device calibration or stability monitoring with portable field sources; and 5) various ancillary exercises designed to illustrate radiometric concepts. Before, during, and after SIRREX-5, NIST calibrated the SIRREX-5 participating radiometers for radiance and irradiance responsivity. The Facility for Automated Spectroradiometric Calibrations (FASCAL) was scheduled for spectral irradiance calibrations for standard lamps during SIRREX-5. Three lamps from the SeaWiFS community were submitted and two were calibrated.

Hooker, Stanford B.↗

Coastal Atmosphere and Sea Time Series (CoASTS)

The Coastal Atmosphere and Sea Time Series (CoASTS) Project aimed at supporting ocean color research and applications, from 1995 up to the time of publication of this document, has ensured the collection of a comprehensive atmospheric and marine data set from an oceanographic tower located in the northern Adriatic Sea. The instruments and the measurement methodologies used to gather quantities relevant for bio-optical modeling and for the calibration and validation of ocean color sensors, are described. Particular emphasis is placed on four items: (1) the evaluation of perturbation effects in radiometric data (i.e., tower-shading, instrument self-shading, and bottom effects); (2) the intercomparison of seawater absorption coefficients from in situ measurements and from laboratory spectrometric analysis on discrete samples; (3) the intercomparison of two filter techniques for in vivo measurement of particulate absorption coefficients; and (4) the analysis of repeatability and reproducibility of the most relevant laboratory measurements carried out on seawater samples (i.e., particulate and yellow substance absorption coefficients, and pigment and total suspended matter concentrations). Sample data are also presented and discussed to illustrate the typical features characterizing the CoASTS measurement site in view of supporting the suitability of the CoASTS data set for bio-optical modeling and ocean color calibration and validation.

Hooker, Stanford B.↗

Can We Better Constrain the Timing of GNAIW/UNADW Variability in the Western Equatorial Atlantic and Its Relationship to Climate Change During the Last Deglaciation?

We have revisited the well-trod VM28-122 core retrieved from the deep Colombian Basin, which includes sediments that reflect modern Upper North Atlantic Deep Water and extends through the last deglaciation into the last glacial period when the site was bathed in Glacial North Atlantic Intermediate Water. Here, we leverage the nearby Cariaco Basin's surface water radiocarbon reconstruction (reservoir age, and ΔR) on the IntCal20 timescale to recast the period of the last deglaciation with a newly constrained age model. Based on the revised age model, we observe that the multimillennial decrease in benthic δ 13 C and B/Ca (which record δ 13 C of dissolved inorganic carbon and Δ[CO 3 –2 ], respectively) began at 18,100 ± 240 (95% CI) calibrated years BP, synchronous with Termination 1, as identified by changes in the Antarctic Ice Sheet composite and by the onset of rapid glacier recession in the Southern Hemisphere (Denton et al., 2010, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1184119; Denton et al., 2021, https://10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106771). The beginning of the decrease in benthic δ 18 O is concurrent with the changes in carbon chemistry or at most, a few hundred years later. It is no later than 17,700 ± 300 (95% CI) yrs BP in our record, at the putative start of Heinrich Stadial 1. With sufficient data density (more than 2–3 control points per kyr) and an independent record of past surface water radiocarbon variations, it is possible to achieve late glacial and deglacial chronologies with fidelities similar to those of ice cores. Furthermore, doing so in more oceanographic locations should shed light more broadly on the mechanisms instrumental to abrupt climate change.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

High Energy Benthic Boundary Layer Experiment (HEBBLE): Preliminary program plan and conceptual design

Deep sea processes of flow-sediment interaction, particularly the role of high energy ocean bottom current events in forming the seafloor topography, transporting material, and mixing the bottom of the water column are examined. A series of observations at and near the sea bottom, in water depths of 4 to 5 km, in areas of the western North Atlantic where high energy current events occur, include site surveys and physical reconnaissance to identify suitable areas and positions, and one or more six month experiments to investigate temporal and spatial variations of high energy events within the boundary layer and their interaction with the seabed. Descriptions of proposed HEBBLE activities are included, with emphasis on technology transfer to the oceanographic community through design, fabrication, testing, and operation of an instrumented ocean bottom lander.

Frewing, K.↗

The Multichannel Ocean Color Sensor (MOCS)

The MOCS is an imaging spectroradiometer with a sensitivity that matches the light upwelling from open bodies of water. Twenty contiguous spectral channels in the visible are recorded in a line scanning mode from an aircraft. The system also supports a thermal infrared radiometer and will accept input from a position location system. The sensor in the MOCS system is an image dissector tube. A spectral curvature algorithm was developed. No atmospheric correction to the data is needed for low flying aircraft gathering chlorophyll data using this algorithm. Although the MOCS is now about 15 years old, because its response has been so stable, its data recording system was upgraded to the system used by the Aircraft Oceanographic Lidar where possible. The MOCS has been a reliable instrument for recording ocean color from low flying aircraft. As NASA enters the next period of ocean color investigations from space, such a device can play an important role in calibration of the space instrument, as well as provide support for programs developing the next generation of spaceborne devices.

Oberholtzer, J. D.↗

Seasat - Results of the mission

The scientific results of the Seasat mission are reviewed, including altimeter, scatterometer, microwave radiometer, and imaging radar studies. The analyses of Seasat data showed that global calibrations of satellite observations are much more accurate than measurements made at points on the ocean. It is found that the accuracy of satellite measurements of a particular variable are improved if the variable is measured by different instruments on the same satellite. The results suggest that important oceanographic variables can be mapped from space with accuracies required by climatological and scientific studies.

Stewart, Robert H.↗

Simulation of the Impact of New Aircraft-and Satellite-based Ocean Surface Wind Measurements on Wind Analyses and Numerical Forecasts

The Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is a new airborne microwave remote sensor for hurricane observations that is currently under development by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, NOAA Hurricane Research Division, the University of Central Florida and the University of Michigan. HIRAD is being designed to enhance the realtime airborne ocean surface winds observation capabilities of NOAA and USAF Weather Squadron hurricane hunter aircraft currently using the operational airborne Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR). Unlike SFMR, which measures wind speed and rain rate along the ground track directly beneath the aircraft, HIRAD will provide images of the surface wind and rain field over a wide swath (approx. 3 x the aircraft altitude). The present paper describes a set of Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) in which measurements from the new instrument as well as those from existing instruments (air, surface, and space-based) are simulated from the output of a detailed numerical model, and those results are used to construct H*Wind analyses, a product of the Hurricane Research Division of NOAA s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. Evaluations will be presented on the impact of the HIRAD instrument on H*Wind analyses, both in terms of adding it to the full suite of current measurements, as well as using it to replace instrument(s) that may not be functioning at the future time the HIRAD instrument is implemented. Also shown will be preliminary results of numerical weather prediction OSSEs in which the impact of the addition of HIRAD observations to the initial state on numerical forecasts of the hurricane intensity and structure is assessed.

Miller, TImothy↗

Satellite observations of mesoscale features in lower Cook Inlet and Shelikof Strait, Gulf of Alaska

The Seasat satellite launched in Summer 1978 carried a synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Although Seasat failed after 105 days in orbit, it provided observations that demonstrate the potential to examine and monitor upper oceanic processes. Seasat made five passes over lower Cook Inlet and Shelikof Strait, Alaska, during Summer 1978. SAR images from the passes show oceanographic features, including a meander in a front, a pair of mesoscale eddies, and internal waves. These features are compared with contemporary and representative images from a satellite-borne Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS), with water property data, and with current observations from moored instruments. The results indicate that SAR data can be used to monitor mesoscale oceanographic features.

Schumacher, James D.↗

Scientific and economic potential of the SEASAT Program

The SEASAT satellite system is planned as a user-oriented system for timely monitoring of global ocean dynamics and mapping the global ocean geoid. The satellite instrumentation and modular concept are discussed. Operational data capabilities will include oceanographic data services, direct satellite read-out to users, and conversational retrieval and analysis of stored data. A case-study technique, generalized through physical and econometric modeling, indicates potential economic benefit from SEASAT to users in the following areas: ship routing, iceberg reconnaissance, arctic operations, Alaska pipeline ship link, and off-shore oil production.

Mccandless, S. W.↗

Tools for Tomorrow's Science and Technology Workforce: MATE's 2006 ROV Competition Sets Students' Sights on Ocean Observing Systems

Teams participating in the 2006 ROV competition organized by the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center and the Marine Technology Society's (MTS) ROV Committee experienced first-hand the scientific and technical challenges that many ocean scientists, technicians, and engineers face every day. The competition tasked more than 1,000 middle and high school, college, and university students from Newfoundland to Hong Kong with designing and building ROVs to support the next generation of ocean observing systems. Teaming up with the National Office for Integrated and Sustained Ocean Observations, Ocean. US, and the Ocean Research Interactive Observatory Networks (ORION) Program, the competition highlighted ocean observing systems and the careers, organizations, and technologies associated with ocean observatories. The student teams were challenged to develop vehicles that can deploy, install, and maintain networks of instruments as well as to explore the practical applications and the research questions made possible by observing systems.

OCEANOGRAPHERS↗

Active-passive airborne ocean color measurement. II - Applications

Reported here for the first time is the use of a single airborne instrument to make concurrent measurements of oceanic chlorophyll concentration by (1) laser-induced fluorescence, (2) passive upwelling radiance, and (3) solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence. Results from field experiments conducted with the NASA airborne oceanographic lidar (AOL) in the New York Bight demonstrate the capability of a single active-passive instrument to perform new and potentially important ocean color studies related to (1) active lidar validation of passive ocean color in-water algorithms, (2) chlorophyll a in vivo fluorescence yield variability, (3) calibration of active multichannel lidar systems, (4) effect of sea state on passive and active ocean color measurements, (5) laser/solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence investigations, and (6) subsequent improvement of satellite-borne ocean color scanners. For validation and comparison purposes a separate passive ocean color sensor was also flown along with the new active-passive sensor during these initial field trials.

Hoge, F. E.↗

Optical Detection of Organic Chemical Biosignatures at Hydrothermal Vents

We have developed a non-contact, optical life detection instrument that can detect organic chemical biosignatures in a number of different environments, including dry land, shallow aqueous, deep marine or in ice. Hence, the instrument is appropriate as a biosignature survey tool both for Mars exploration or in situ experiments in an ice-covered ocean such as one might wish to explore on Europa. Here, we report the results we obtained on an expedition aboard the Russian oceanographic vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh to hydrothermal vent sites in the Pacific Ocean using our life detection instrument MCDUVE, a multichannel, deep ultraviolet excitation fluorescence detector. MCDUVE detected organic material distribution on rocks near the vent, as well as direct detection of organisms, both microbial and microscopic. We also were able to detect organic material issuing directly from vent chimneys, measure the organic signature of the water column as we ascended, and passively observe the emission of light directly from some vents.

Conrad, P. G.↗