This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 9827, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Introduction (if any), and Conference Committee listing.

A new technique has been developed for improving the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of underwater acoustic signals measured above the water’s surface. This technique uses a Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV) and an Adaptive Optics (AO) system (consisting of a fast steering mirror, deformable mirror, and Shack-Hartmann Wavefront Sensor) for mitigating the effect of surface water distortions encountered while remotely recording underwater acoustic signals. The LDV is used to perform non-contact vibration measurements of a surface via a two beam laser interferometer. We have demonstrated the feasibility of this technique to overcome water distortions artificially generated on the surface of the water in a laboratory tank. In this setup, the LDV beam penetrates the surface of the water and travels down to be reflected off a submerged acoustic transducer. The reflected or returned beam is then recorded by the LDV as a vibration wave measurement. The LDV extracts the acoustic wave information while the AO mitigates the water surface distortions, increasing the overall SNR. The AO system records the Strehl ratio, which is a measure of the quality of optical image formation. In a perfect optical system the Strehl ratio is unity, however realistic systems with imperfections have Strehl ratios below one. The operation of the AO control system in open-loop and closed-loop configurations demonstrates the utility of the AO-based LDV for many applications.

This paper describes a new concept of mitigating signal distortions caused by random air-water interface using an adaptive optics (AO) system. This is the first time the concept of using an AO for mitigating the effects of distortions caused mainly by a random air-water interface is presented. We have demonstrated the feasibility of correcting the distortions using AO in a laboratory water tank for investigating the propagation effects of a laser beam through an airwater interface. The AO system consisting of a fast steering mirror, deformable mirror, and a Shack-Hartmann Wavefront Sensor for mitigating surface water distortions has a unique way of stabilizing and aiming a laser onto an object underneath the water. Essentially the AO system mathematically takes the complex conjugate of the random phase caused by air-water interface allowing the laser beam to penetrate through the water by cancelling with the complex conjugates. The results show the improvement of a number of metrics including Strehl ratio, a measure of the quality of optical image formation for diffraction limited optical system. These are the first results demonstrating the feasibility of developing a new sensor system such as Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV) utilizing AO for mitigating surface water distortions.

The optical characteristics of an air/water interface have been widely studied for natural interface formations. However, the creation and management of artificial cavities creates a complicated interaction of gas and liquid that makes optical sensing and communication through the interface challenging. A ventilated cavity can reduce friction in underwater vehicles, but the resulting bubble drastically impedes optical and acoustic communication propagation. The complicated interaction at the air/water boundary yields surface waves and turbulence that make modeling and compensating of the optical properties difficult. Our experimental approach uses a narrow laser beam to probe the surface of the interface and measure the beam deflection and lensing effects. Using a vehicle model with a cavitator in a water tunnel, a laser beam is propagated outward from the model through the boundary and projected onto a target grid. The beam projection is captured using a high-speed camera, allowing us to measure and analyze beam shape and deflection. This approach has enabled us to quantify the temporal and spatial periodic variations in the beam propagation through the cavity boundary and fluid.

Laser beam propagation underwater is becoming an important research topic because of high demand for its potential applications. Namely, ability to image underwater at long distances is highly desired for scientific and military purposes, including submarine awareness, diver visibility, and mine detection. Optical communication in the ocean can provide covert data transmission with much higher rates than that available with acoustic techniques, and it is now desired for certain military and scientific applications that involve sending large quantities of data. Unfortunately underwater environment presents serious challenges for propagation of laser beams. Even in clean ocean water, the extinction due to absorption and scattering theoretically limit the useful range to few attenuation lengths. However, extending the laser light propagation range to the theoretical limit leads to significant beam distortions due to optical underwater turbulence. Experiments show that the magnitude of the distortions that are caused by water temperature and salinity fluctuations can significantly exceed the magnitude of the beam distortions due to atmospheric turbulence even for relatively short propagation distances. We are presenting direct measurements of optical underwater turbulence in controlled conditions of laboratory water tank using two separate techniques involving wavefront sensor and LED array. These independent approaches will enable development of underwater turbulence power spectrum model based directly on the spatial domain measurements and will lead to accurate predictions of underwater beam propagation.

This work examines the propagation properties of two superimposed coherent orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes for use in underwater systems as an alternative to amplitude modulation. An OAM mode of l=+2 is interfered with OAM mode l=-1 from a λ = 540 nm laser source. These OAM modes are superimposed using a Mach-Zehnder (MZ) interferometer combined with diffractive optical elements. By manipulating the optical path length of one of the MZ legs, the interference of these beams can be temporally controlled. The spatial profile is maintained in a turbid environment up through 4.9 attenuation lengths for both cases.

Emerging underwater optical imaging and sensing applications rely on phase-sensitive detection to provide added functionality and improved sensitivity. However, underwater turbulence introduces spatio-temporal variations in the refractive index of water which can degrade the performance of these systems. Although the influence of turbulence on traditional, non-interferometric imaging has been investigated, its influence on the optical phase remains poorly understood. Nonetheless, a thorough understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of the optical phase of light passing through underwater turbulence are crucial to the design of phase-sensitive imaging and sensing systems. To address this concern, we combined underwater imaging with high speed holography to provide a calibrated characterization of the effects of turbulence on the optical phase. By measuring the modulation transfer function of an underwater imaging system, we were able to calibrate varying levels of optical turbulence intensity using the Simple Underwater Imaging Model (SUIM). We then used high speed holography to measure the temporal dynamics of the optical phase of light passing through varying levels of turbulence. Using this method, we measured the variance in the amplitude and phase of the beam, the temporal correlation of the optical phase, and recorded the turbulence induced phase noise as a function of frequency. By bench marking the effects of varying levels of turbulence on the optical phase, this work provides a basis to evaluate the real-world potential of emerging underwater interferometric sensing modalities.

Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) typically use traditional optical imaging systems, such as cameras, for high resolution imaging. Cameras are effective in clear water, but have extremely poor performance in degraded visual environments (DVEs) such as turbid coastal waters and harbors. This is due to the multiple scattering of the light from the particulates and organic matter in the water. Laser-based sensors have been developed to enhance optical imaging in DVEs^1,3,4,5,6. However, since conventional approaches require that the illuminator and receiver be located on the same platform, the size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements are incompatible with small ROVs. Researchers at NAVAIR have developed a low cost optical imager utilizing a bistatic geometry where the illuminator and receiver are mounted on separate, smaller platforms. The illuminator steers a modulated laser beam with a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) scanner to sequentially illuminate an underwater object. A distant receiver collects the object reflected laser light and reconstructs the imagery. Communications information, including a synchronization sequence, is encoded onto the modulation which is used by the receiver to build the image. The SWaP of the illuminator’s components have been optimized and integrated into a modified version of the OpenROV, a miniature, commercial off-the-shelf ROV. This paper reports on the efforts to reduce the SWaP of the modulated illuminator and the results of testing this system in a laboratory water tank environment.

The Compressive Line Sensing (CLS) active imaging system has been demonstrated to be effective in scattering mediums, such as turbid coastal water through simulations and test tank experiments. Since turbulence is encountered in many atmospheric and underwater surveillance applications, a new CLS imaging prototype was developed to investigate the effectiveness of the CLS concept in a turbulence environment. Compared with earlier optical bench top prototype, the new system is significantly more robust and compact. A series of experiments were conducted at the Naval Research Lab's optical turbulence test facility with the imaging path subjected to various turbulence intensities. In addition to validating the system design, we obtained some unexpected exciting results – in the strong turbulence environment, the time-averaged measurements using the new CLS imaging prototype improved both SNR and resolution of the reconstructed images. We will discuss the implications of the new findings, the challenges of acquiring data through strong turbulence environment, and future enhancements.

Measurements with high range resolution are needed to identify underwater threats, especially when two-dimensional contrast information is insufficient to extract object details. The challenge is that optical measurements are limited by scattering phenomena induced by the underwater channel. Back-scatter results in transmitted photons being directed back to the receiver before reaching the target of interest which induces a clutter signal for ranging and a reduction in contrast for imaging. Multiple small-angle scattering (forward-scatter) results in transmitted photons being directed to unintended regions of the target of interest (spatial spreading), while also stretching the temporal profile of a short optical pulse (temporal spreading). Spatial and temporal spreading of the optical signal combine to cause a reduction in range resolution in conventional laser imaging systems. NAVAIR has investigated ways in which wide bandwidth, modulated optical signals can be utilized to improve ranging and imaging performance in turbid water environments. Experimental efforts have been conducted to investigate channel effects on the propagated frequency content, as well as different filtering and processing techniques on the return signals to maximize range resolution. Of particular interest for the modulated pulses are coherent detection and processing techniques employed by the radar community, including methods to reduce sidelobe clutter. This paper will summarize NAVAIR’s work and show that wideband optical signals, in combination with the CLEAN algorithm, can indeed provide enhancements to range resolution and 3D imagery in turbid water environments.

Although advances have been made in oil spill remote detection, many electro-optic sensors do not provide real-time images, do not work well under degraded visual environments, nor provide a measure of extreme oil thickness in marine environments. A joint program now exists between BSEE and NVESD that addresses these capability gaps in remote sensing of oil spills. Laboratory experiments, calibration techniques, and field tests were performed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; Santa Barbara, California; and the Ohmsett Test Facility in Leonardo, New Jersey. Weathered crude oils were studied spectroscopically and characterized with LWIR, and low-light-level visible/NIR, and SWIR cameras. We designed and fabricated an oil emulsion thickness calibration cell for spectroscopic analysis and ground truth, field measurements. Digital night vision cameras provided real-time, wide-dynamic-range imagery, and were able to detect and recognize oil from full sun to partial moon light. The LWIR camera provided quantitative oil analysis (identification) for >1 mm thick crude oils both day and night. Two filtered, co-registered, SWIR cameras were used to determine whether oil thickness could be measured in real time. Spectroscopic results revealed that oil emulsions vary with location and weathered state and some oils (e.g., ANS and Santa Barbara seeps) do not show the spectral rich features from archived Deep Water Horizon hyperspectral data. Multi-sensor imagery collected during the 2015 USCG Airborne Oil Spill Remote Sensing and Reporting Exercise and the design of a compact, multiband imager are discussed.

Ocean floor mapping using video is a method to simply and cost-effectively record large areas of the seafloor. Obtaining visual and elevation models has noteworthy applications in search and recovery missions. Hazards to navigation are abundant and pose a significant threat to the safety, effectiveness, and speed of naval operations and commercial vessels. This project’s objective was to develop a workflow to automatically extract metadata from marine video and create image optical and elevation surface mosaics. Three developments made this possible. First, optical character recognition (OCR) by means of two-dimensional correlation, using a known character set, allowed for the capture of metadata from image files. Second, exploiting the image metadata (i.e., latitude, longitude, heading, camera angle, and depth readings) allowed for the determination of location and orientation of the image frame in mosaic. Image registration improved the accuracy of mosaicking. Finally, overlapping data allowed us to determine height information. A disparity map was created using the parallax from overlapping viewpoints of a given area and the relative height data was utilized to create a three-dimensional, textured elevation map.

The Weibull and Exponentiated Weibull probability density functions have been examined for the free space regime using heuristically derived shape and scale parameters. This paper extends current literature to the underwater channel and explores use of experimentally derived parameters. Data gathered in a short range underwater channel emulator was analyzed using a nonlinear curve fitting methodology to optimize the scale and shape parameters of the PDFs. This method provides insight into the scaled effects of underwater optical turbulence on a long range link, and may yield a general set of equations for determining the PDF for an underwater optical link.

Boundary layers around moving underwater vehicles or other platforms can be a limiting factor for optical communication. Turbulence in the boundary layer of a body moving through a stratified medium can lead to small variations in the index of refraction, which impede optical signals. As a first step towards investigating this boundary layer effect on underwater optics, we study the flow near the boundary in the Rayleigh-Bénard laboratory tank at the Naval Research Laboratory Stennis Space Center. The tank is set up to generate temperature-driven, i.e., convective turbulence, and allows control of the turbulence intensity. This controlled turbulence environment is complemented by computational fluid dynamics simulations to visualize and quantify multi-scale flow patterns. The boundary layer dynamics in the laboratory tank are quantified using a state-of-the-art Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system to examine the boundary layer velocities and turbulence parameters. The velocity fields and flow dynamics from the PIV are compared to the numerical model and show the model to accurately reproduce the velocity range and flow dynamics. The temperature variations and thus optical turbulence effects can then be inferred from the model temperature data. Optical turbulence is also visible in the raw data from the PIV system. The newly collected data are consistent with previously reported measurements from high-resolution Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter profilers (Nortek Vectrino), as well as fast thermistor probes and novel next-generation fiber-optics temperature sensors. This multi-level approach to studying optical turbulence near a boundary, combining in-situ measurements, optical techniques, and numerical simulations, can provide new insight and aid in mitigating turbulence impacts on underwater optical signal transmission.

Underwater optical communication has recently become the topic of much investigation as the demands for underwater data transmission have rapidly grown in recent years. The need for reliable, high-speed, secure underwater communication has turned increasingly to blue-light optical solutions. The blue-green visible wavelength window provides an attractive solution to the problem of underwater data transmission thanks to its low attenuation, where traditional RF solutions used in free-space communications collapse. Beginning with GaN laser diodes as the optical source, this work explores the encoding and transmission of digital data across underwater environments of varying turbidities. Given the challenges present in an underwater environment, such as the mechanical and optical turbulences that make proper alignment difficult to maintain, it is desirable to achieve extremely high data rates in order to allow the time window of alignment between the transmitter and receiver to be as small as possible. In this paper, work is done to increase underwater data rates through the use of orbital angular momentum. Results are shown for a range of data rates across a variety of channel types ranging in turbidity from that of a clear ocean to a dirty harbor.

Airborne Lidar Bathymetry (ALB) waveforms provide a time log for the interaction of the laser pulse with the environment (water surface, water column and seafloor) along its ray-path geometry. Using the water surface return and the bottom return, it is possible to calculate the water depth. In addition to bathymetry, the ALB bottom return can provide information on seafloor characteristics. The main environmental factors that contribute to the ALB bottom return measurements are: slope, roughness, vegetation, and mineral composition of the surface geology. Both the environment and the ALB hardware affect the bottom return and contribute to the measurement uncertainties. In this study, the ALB bottom return waveform was investigated spatially (i.e., area contributing to the return) and temporally (i.e. the shape of the waveform return) for seafloor characterization. A system-agnostic approach was developed in order to distinguish between the spatial variations of different bottom characteristics. An empirical comparison of bottom characteristics was conducted near the Merrimack River Embayment, Gulf of Maine, USA. The study results showed a good correlation to acoustic backscatter collected over the same area.

We present a novel chaotic lidar system designed for underwater impulse response measurements. The system uses two recently introduced, low-cost, commercially available 462 nm multimode InGaN laser diodes, which are synchronized by a bi-directional optical link. This synchronization results in a noise-like chaotic intensity modulation with over 1 GHz bandwidth and strong modulation depth. An advantage of this approach is its simple transmitter architecture, which uses no electrical signal generator, electro-optic modulator, or optical frequency doubler.

This work demonstrates a new statistical approach towards backscatter “clutter” rejection for continuous-wave underwater lidar systems: independent component analysis. Independent component analysis is a statistical signal processing technique which can separate a return of interest from clutter in a statistical domain. After highlighting the statistical processing concepts, we demonstrate that underwater lidar target and backscatter returns have very different distributions, facilitating their separation in a statistical domain. Example profiles are provided showing the results of this separation, and ranging experiment results are presented. In the ranging experiment, performance is compared to a more conventional frequency-domain filtering approach. Target tracking is maintained to 14.5 attenuation lengths in the laboratory test tank environment, a 2.5 attenuation length improvement over the baseline.

Japanese Himawari-8 (H8) satellite was launched on October 7, 2014 and placed into a geostationary orbit at ~ 140.7°E. The Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) onboard H8 provides full-disk (FD) observations every 10 minutes, in 16 solar reflectance and thermal infrared (IR) bands, with spatial resolution at nadir of 0.5-1 km and 2 km, respectively. The NOAA Advanced Clear-Sky Processor for Ocean (ACSPO) SST system, previously used with several polar-orbiting sensors, was adapted to process the AHI data. The AHI SST product is routinely validated against quality controlled in situ SSTs available from the NOAA in situ SST Quality monitor (iQuam). The product performance is monitored in the NOAA SST Quality Monitor (SQUAM) system. Typical validation statistics show a bias within ±0.2 K and standard deviation of 0.4-0.6 K. The ACSPO H8 SST is also compared with the NOAA heritage SST produced at OSPO from the Multifunctional Transport Satellite (MTSAT-2; renamed Himawari-7, or H7 after launch) and with another H8 SST produced by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). This paper describes the ACSPO AHI SST processing and results of validation and comparisons. Work is underway to generate a reduced volume ACSPO AHI SST product L2C (collated in time; e.g., 1-hr instead of current 10-min) and/or L3C (additionally gridded in space). ACSPO AHI processing chain will be applied to the data of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), which will be flown onboard the next generation US geostationary satellite, GOES-R, scheduled for launch in October 2016.

Multichannel regression algorithms are widely used to retrieve sea surface temperature (SST) from infrared observations with satellite radiometers. Their theoretical foundations were laid in the 1980s-1990s, during the era of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometers which have been flown onboard NOAA satellites since 1981. Consequently, the multi-channel and non-linear SST algorithms employ the bands centered at 3.7, 11 and 12 μm, similar to available in AVHRR. More recent radiometers carry new bands located in the windows near 4 μm, 8.5 μm and 10 μm, which may also be used for SST. Involving these bands in SST retrieval requires modifications to the regression SST equations. The paper describes a general approach to constructing SST regression equations for an arbitrary number of radiometric bands and explores the benefits of using extended sets of bands available with the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) flown onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) and to be flown onboard the follow-on Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) satellites, J1-J4, to be launched from 2017-2031; Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) flown onboard Aqua and Terra satellites; and the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) flown onboard the Japanese Himawari-8 satellite (which in turn is a close proxy of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) to be flown onboard the future Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites – R Series (GOES-R) planned for launch in October 2016.

Short wave radiation (SWR) and its attenuation with depth have a major impact on the vertical distribution of the oceanic water temperature, dynamical processes, and ocean-atmosphere interactions. In numerical modeling of oceanic processes, the SWR usually comes from the atmospheric model predictions, while the short wave attenuation schemes are internally prescribed (estimated) inside the oceanic dynamical model. It has been reported that atmospheric models show a tendency to overestimate the shortwave radiation due to underestimation of predicted low-level clouds. Most existing schemes to specify the attenuation of SWR with depth in numerical models are based on: the Jerlov (1976) water-types classification; climatological estimates of attenuation coefficients or from the biological model predictions of light-absorbing and scattering water constituents. All of the above attenuation schemes are prone to introducing errors in the attenuation of short wave radiation with depth. As a result, we have to deal with two types of errors in the oceanic modeling: those due to the incorrect specification of the magnitude of SWR at the surface (from the atmospheric model), and those due to inaccurate vertical attenuation of SWR (prescribed in the oceanic model). We have developed an approach for estimating errors in the oceanic model heat budget due to errors in surface values of SWR and in its attenuation with depth. Based on this approach, we present examples illustrating sensitivities of the heat budget of the water column to the changes in specification of surface SWR and its attenuation.

Previous partial simulations and field measurements by us, had demonstrated the impact of the un-polarized nature of algal chlorophyll fluorescence to reduce the observed degree of polarization of the underwater light field in the spectral vicinity of fluorescence. (Polarization otherwise existing as a result of non-algal particulate (NAP) and molecular elastic scattering). The magnitude of this fluorescence driven dip in the observed degree of polarization was also seen to be theoretically related to the fluorescence magnitude. The recent availability to us of the RayXP vector radiative transfer code (VRTE) for the coupled atmosphere ocean system now permits us to make complete simulations of the underwater polarized light field, using measured inherent optical properties (IOPs) as inputs. Based on these simulations, a much more comprehensive analysis of the fluorescence impact is now possible. Combining the results of these new simulations with underwater field measurements in eutrophic waters using our hyperspectral multi angle polarimeter, we verified the theoretical relationship. In addition, comparisons of VRTE simulations and hyperspectral polarized field measurements for various coastal water conditions permit retrieval of fluorescence magnitudes. Comparisons of these polarization based fluorescence retrievals with retrievals obtained using fluorescence height over baseline or Hydrolight scalar simulations, together with total unpolarized radiance measurements, show good agreement.

Terra MODIS has been known since pre-launch to have polarization sensitivity, particularly in shortest-wavelength bands 8 and 9. On-orbit reflectance trending of pseudo-invariant sites show a variation in reflectance as a function of band and scan mirror angle of incidence consistent with time-dependent polarization effects from the rotating doublesided scan mirror. The MODIS Characterization Support Team [MCST] estimates the Mueller matrix trending from this variation as observed from a single desert site, but this effect is not included in Collection 6 [C6] calibration. Here we extend the MCST’s current polarization sensitivity monitoring to two ocean sites distributed over latitude to help estimate the uncertainties in the derived Mueller matrix. The Mueller matrix elements derived for polarization-sensitive Band 8 for a given site are found to be fairly insensitive to surface brdf modeling. The site-to-site variation is a measure of the uncertainty in the Mueller estimation. Results for band 8 show that the polarization correction reduces mirror-side striping by up to 50% and reduces the instrument polarization effect on reflectance time series of an ocean target.

A nonlinear cluster analysis algorithm is used to characterize the spatial structure of a wind-sheared turbulent flow obtained from the direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the three-dimensional temperature and momentum fields. The application of self-organizing mapping to DNS data for data reduction is utilized because of the dimensional similitude in structure between DNS data and remotely sensed hyperspectral and multispectral data where the technique has been used extensively. For the three Reynolds numbers of 150, 180, and 220 used in the DNS, self-organized mapping is successful in the extraction of boundary layer streaky structures from the turbulent temperature and momentum fields. In addition, it preserves the cross-wind scale structure of the streaks exhibited in both fields which loosely scale with the inverse of the Reynolds number. Self-organizing mapping of the along wind component of the helicity density shows a layer of the turbulence field which is spotty suggesting significant direct coupling between the large and small-scale turbulent structures. The spatial correlation of the temperature and momentum fields allows for the possibility of the remote extrapolation of the momentum structure from thermal structure.

The spectral reflectance measured by the MODIS reflective solar bands (RSB) is used for retrieving many atmospheric science products. The accuracy of these products depends on the accuracy of the calibration of the RSB. To this end, the RSB of the MODIS instruments are primarily calibrated on-orbit using regular solar diffuser (SD) observations. For λ <0.94 μm the SD’s on-orbit bi-directional reflectance factor (BRF) change is tracked using solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM) observations. For λ <0.94 μm, the MODIS Characterization Support Team (MCST) developed, in MODIS Collection 6 (C6), a time-dependent correction using observations from pseudo-invariant earth-scene targets. This correction has been implemented in C6 for the Terra MODIS 1.24 μm band over the entire mission, and for the 1.38 μm band in the forward processing. As the instruments continue to operate beyond their design lifetime of six years, a similar correction is planned for other short-wave infrared (SWIR) bands as well. MODIS SWIR bands are used in deriving atmosphere products, including aerosol optical thickness, atmospheric total column water vapor, cloud fraction and cloud optical depth. The SD degradation correction in Terra bands 5 and 26 impact the spectral radiance and therefore the retrieval of these atmosphere products. Here, we describe the corrections to Bands 5 (1.24 μm) and 26 (1.38 μm), and produce three sets (B5, B26 correction = on/on, on/off, and off/off) of Terra-MODIS Level 1B (calibrated radiance product) data. By comparing products derived from these corrected and uncorrected Terra MODIS Level 1B (L1B) calibrations, dozens of L3 atmosphere products are surveyed for changes caused by the corrections, and representative results are presented. Aerosol and water vapor products show only small local changes, while some cloud products can change locally by >10%, which is a large change.

The exchange of water masses across the Mississippi shelf was used to determine the chlorophyll flux for an eight month period in 2013 through the major Mississippi River discharge period in Spring and Fall. Circulation models (NCOM and HYCOM) and SNPP satellite chlorophyll products were used to monitor the changes in the shelf transport and surface biological impact. The physical and biological response of cross shelf exchange was observed in rapidly changing dynamic movements of river plumes across the shelf as identified by the models and satellite products. Six sections on the shelf identified exchange corridors of transport and biomass chlorophyll flux of surface waters between the coast and offshore waters. During the eight month period, the nearshore waters show high carbon chlorophyll flux, averaging -60 x10³ kg chl extending to offshore waters. However, at the outer shelf break, a significant carbon flux was observed moving shoreward onto the shelf from offshore waters, averaging +100 x10³ kg chl, which is attributed to the dynamic Mississippi River plume. Results indicate a significant amount of offshore surface waters containing biological carbon can exchange across the shelf, clearly demonstrated through the combination of biological satellite products and physical models.

Coastal processes can change on hourly time scales in response to tides, winds and biological activity, which can influence the color of surface waters. These temporal and spatial ocean color changes require satellite validation for applications using bio-optical products to delineate diurnal processes. The diurnal color change and capability for satellite ocean color response were determined with in situ and satellite observations. Hourly variations in satellite ocean color are dependent on several properties which include: a) sensor characterization b) advection of water masses and c) diurnal response of biological and optical water properties. The in situ diurnal changes in ocean color in a dynamic turbid coastal region in the northern Gulf of Mexico were characterized using above water spectral radiometry from an AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET -WavCIS CSI-06) site that provides up to 8-10 observations per day (in 15-30 minute increments). These in situ diurnal changes were used to validate and quantify natural bio-optical fluctuations in satellite ocean color measurements. Satellite capability to detect changes in ocean color was characterized by using overlapping afternoon orbits of the VIIRS–NPP ocean color sensor within 100 minutes. Results show the capability of multiple satellite observations to monitor hourly color changes in dynamic coastal regions that are impacted by tides, re-suspension, and river plume dispersion. Hourly changes in satellite ocean color were validated with in situ observation on multiple occurrences during different times of the afternoon. Also, the spatial variability of VIIRS diurnal changes shows the occurrence and displacement of phytoplankton blooms and decay during the afternoon period. Results suggest that determining the temporal and spatial changes in a color / phytoplankton bloom from the morning to afternoon time period will require additional satellite coverage periods in the coastal zone.