A Network for Standardized Ocean Color Validation Measurements

The Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) was developed to support atmospheric studies at various scales with measurements from worldwide distributed autonomous sunphotometers [Holben et al. 1998]. AERONET has now extended its support to marine applications through the additional capability of measuring the radiance emerging from the sea with modified sun-photometers installed on offshore platforms like lighthouses, navigation aids, oceanographic and oil towers. The functionality of this added network component called AERONET - Ocean Color (AERONET-OC), has been verified at different sites and deployment structures over a four year testing phase. Continuous or occasional deployment platforms (see Fig. 1) included: the Acqua Alta Oceanographic Tower (AAOT) of the Italian National Research Council in the northern Adriatic Sea since spring 2002; the Martha s Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) tower of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the Atlantic off the Massachusetts coast for different periods since spring 2004; the TOTAL Abu-Al-Bukhoosh oil Platform (AABP, shown through an artistic rendition in Fig. 1) in the Persian (Arabian) Gulf in fall 2004; the Gustaf Dal n Lighthouse Tower (GDLT) of the Swedish Maritime Administration in the Baltic Sea in summer 2005; and the platform at the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Ocean Validation Experiment (COVE) site located in the Atlantic Ocean off the Virginia coast since fall 2005. Data collected during the network testing phase, confirm the capability of AERONET-OC to support the validation of marine optical remote sensing products through standardized measurements of normalized water-leaving radiance, LWN, and aerosol optical thickness, a, at multiple coastal sites.