Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 25, 2026

Femtosecond Laser Filaments for Use in Sub-Diffraction-Limited Imaging and Remote Sensing
Published on: April 25, 2019
Remote Sensing of CDOM, CDOM Spectral Slope, and Dissolved Organic Carbon in the Global Ocean
Dirk Aurin1, Antonio Mannino2, David J Lary3
1NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (USRA), Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
Abstract:
A Global Ocean Carbon Algorithm Database (GOCAD) has been developed from over 500 oceanographic field campaigns conducted worldwide over the past 30 years including in situ reflectances and coincident satellite imagery, multi- and hyperspectral Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) absorption coefficients from 245-715 nm, CDOM spectral slopes in eight visible and ultraviolet wavebands, dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC, respectively), and inherent optical, physical, and biogeochemical properties. From field optical and radiometric data and satellite measurements, several semi-analytical, empirical, and machine learning algorithms for retrieving global DOC, CDOM, and CDOM slope were developed, optimized for global retrieval, and validated. Global climatologies of satellite-retrieved CDOM absorption coefficient and spectral slope based on the most robust of these algorithms lag seasonal patterns of phytoplankton biomass belying Case 1 assumptions, and track terrestrial runoff on ocean basin scales. Variability in satellite retrievals of CDOM absorption and spectral slope anomalies are tightly coupled to changes in atmospheric and oceanographic conditions associated with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), strongly covary with the multivariate ENSO index in a large region of the tropical Pacific, and provide insights into the potential evolution and feedbacks related to sea surface dissolved carbon in a warming climate. Further validation of the DOC algorithm developed here is warranted to better characterize its limitations, particularly in mid-ocean gyres and the southern oceans.
More Related Videos
09:44Use of Principal Components for Scaling Up Topographic Models to Map Soil Redistribution and Soil Organic Carbon
Published on: October 16, 2018
12:26Integrating Remote Sensing with Species Distribution Models; Mapping Tamarisk Invasions Using the Software for Assisted Habitat Modeling SAHM
Published on: October 11, 2016
Related Concept Videos
The Carbon Cycle
Global Climate Change
Carbon Skeletons
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Organic Compounds
Introduction to Special Senses