Surface currents in the Bohai Sea derived from the Korean Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI)

The first geostationary ocean color satellite sensor, the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) onboard the Korean Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite can monitor and measure ocean phenomena over an area of ~2500 × 2500 km² around the western Pacific region centered at 36°N and 130°E. Hourly measurements during the day around 9:00 to 16:00 local time are a unique capability of GOCI to monitor ocean features of higher temporal variability. In this presentation, we show some recent results of GOCI-derived ocean surface currents in the Bohai Sea using the Maximum Cross-Correlation (MCC) feature tracking method and compare the results with altimetry-inversed tidal current observations produced from Oregon State University (OSU) Tidal Inversion Software (OTIS). The performance of the GOCI-based MCC method is assessed and the discrepancies between the GOCI- and OTIS-derived currents are evaluated. A series of sensitivity studies are conducted with images from various satellite products and of various time differences, MCC adjustable parameters, and influence from other forcings such as wind, to find the best setups for optimal MCC performance. Our results demonstrate that GOCI can effectively provide real-time monitoring of not only water optical, biological, and biogeochemical variability, but also the physical dynamics in the region.