An improved optical classification scheme for the Ocean Colour Essential Climate Variable and its applications

Jackson, T, Sathyendranath, S and Mélin, F 2017 An improved optical classification scheme for the Ocean Colour Essential Climate Variable and its applications. Remote Sensing of Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2017.03.036

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Abstract/Summary

The Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) has produced a climate-quality, error characterised, dataset of ocean-colour products (a designated Essential Climate Variable or ‘ECV’). The OC-CCI project uses an optical classification scheme based on fuzzy logic (Moore et al. 2001), to assign product uncertainties on a pixel-by-pixel basis. In this study we show that the pre-existing set of optical water classes derived from in-water remote-sensing reflectance data are insufficient to classify all Rrs spectra present in satellite data at the global scale, particularly in oligotrophic regions. We generate a new set of optical water classes from millions of satellite-derived ocean-colour spectra, providing an improvement in distribution of cumulative class membership values. The use of these classes for uncertainty assignment are demonstrated for chlorophyll-a, utilising a large in situ database of measurements. In addition to being used for uncertainty assignment, performance of multiple chlorophyll algorithms is assessed within each of the classes and a method for blending algorithms while avoiding sharp boundaries, in order to improve final product quality, using class membership is illustrated.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Additional Keywords:	Ocean colour, Essential Climate Variable, ESA, Climate Change Initiative, Chlorophyll, Fuzzy classification, Optical water type, Uncertainties
Subjects:	Biology Earth Observation - Remote Sensing Marine Sciences
Divisions:	Plymouth Marine Laboratory > Science Areas > Earth Observation Science and Applications
Depositing User:	Dr Thomas Jackson
Date made live:	30 Aug 2017 15:19
Last Modified:	25 Apr 2020 09:58
URI:	https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/7495

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