Ocean-Colour Observations from a Geostationary Orbit.

Abstract

Coastal zone monitoring requires dedicated, high spatial, high frequency coverage by satellite ocean colour sensors, rather than once per day global coverage, as provided by most current ocean colour missions. Observing the Earth from the geostationary orbit can provide better temporal coverage, the possibility of following episodic events at the scale of hours (e.g., red tides, sediment transport), and the improvement of the match between the temporal scale of satellite observations and those of models. Several space agencies have displayed a high level of interest in ocean colour observations from a geostationary platform. This report advocates for collaboration and standardisation in mission requirements, and reviews science questions that can be addressed via ocean colour observations from a geostationary orbit, presents an inventory of proposed and existing GEO ocean-colour missions and examines the complementarity of low-Earth and geostationary orbits.