Results In Coastal Waters With High Resolution In Situ Spectral Radiometry: The Marine Optical System Rov

The water-leaving spectral radiance is a basic ocean color remote sensing parameters required for the vicarious calibration. Determination of water-leaving spectral radiance using in-water radiometry requires measurements of the upwelling spectral radiance at several depths. The Marine Optical System (MOS) Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) is a portable, fiber-coupled, high-resolution spectroradiometer system with spectral coverage from 340 nm to 960 nm. MOS was developed at the same time as the Marine Optical Buoy (MOBY) spectrometer system and is optically identical except that it is configured as a profiling instrument. Concerns with instrument self-shadowing because of the large exterior dimensions of the MOS underwater housing led to adapting MOS and ROV technology. This system provides for measurement of the near-surface upwelled spectral radiance while minimizing the effects of shadowing. A major advantage of this configuration is that the ROV provides the capability to acquire measurements 5 cm to 10 cm below the water surface and is capable of very accurate depth control (1 cm) allowing for high vertical resolution observations within the very near-surface. We describe the integrated system and its characterization and calibration. Initial measurements and results from observations of coral reefs in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, extremely turbid waters in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, and in Case 1 waters off Southern Oahu, Hawaii are presented.