A Journey Through Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of Earth’s Living Oceans

Earth’s changing climate will measurably impact aquatic ecosystems within our lifetime. It remains critical to study ocean ecological processes, determine the roles of the ocean and atmosphere in biogeochemical cycling, and investigate the effect of rising atmospheric CO₂on Earth’s ecosystems and biogeochemistry. Over the last few decades, the concept of ocean ecology from space has evolved from passive radiometric measurements at select visible to near infrared bands to imaging spectroscopy providing continuous, high resolution spectral coverage from the ultraviolet through the near-infrared. Space-based hyperspectral observations from the International Space Station (HICO, DESIS) or smaller orbiting satellites (PRISMA) enable unique exploration of Earth’s oceans. NASA initiated the PACE mission tonot only continue its multi-decade record of satellite ocean color, but also to harness the greater information content of the full spectrum to advance understanding of coastal and global biology and ecology, biogeochemistry, and cloud-aerosol dynamics. Future missions, such as NASA’s SBG, will merge hyperspectral observations with other data to enhance knowledge of marine ecosystem health and biodiversity (harmful algal blooms, coastal flooding, and wetland conservation). To fully realize the science and applications potential of hyperspectral remote sensing, development of new in situ instrumentation and field programs for validation will be critical. This talk will examine historical approaches for imaging Earth’s oceans and will discuss the state-of-the-art and novel application of hyperspectral remote sensing for Earth’s oceans and coasts.