Effect of Satellite Spatial Resolution on Submesoscale Variance in Ocean Color and Temperature
Abstract The capability of moderate‐spatial‐resolution satellites to accurately resolve submesoscale variations in surface tracers remains an open question, one with relevance to observing physical‐biological interactions in the surface ocean. In this study, we address this question by comparing the...
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| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL114266 |
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| author | Luke Carberry David A. Siegel Nicholas J. Nidzieko |
| author_facet | Luke Carberry David A. Siegel Nicholas J. Nidzieko |
| author_sort | Luke Carberry |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The capability of moderate‐spatial‐resolution satellites to accurately resolve submesoscale variations in surface tracers remains an open question, one with relevance to observing physical‐biological interactions in the surface ocean. In this study, we address this question by comparing the variance of two tracers, chlorophyll concentration (Chl) and sea surface temperature (SST), resolved by two satellites—MODIS Aqua, with a resolution of 1.5 km, and Landsat 8/9, with a resolution of 30 m. We quantify tracer variance resolved by both satellites on the submesoscale using spatial variance spectral slopes. We find that MODIS measures significantly higher variance compared to Landsat, in both Chl and SST. This is because, despite higher signal‐to‐noise ratio for MODIS per pixel, Landsat signal‐to‐noise ratio increases considerably when aggregating pixels. Furthermore, by comparing Chl to SST variance for each satellite we find Landsat to be better match to theory for resolving submesoscale physical‐biological interactions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d4f783d13fd341328958bc62c7bc6bc4 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-d4f783d13fd341328958bc62c7bc6bc42025-08-20T03:10:57ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-03-01526n/an/a10.1029/2024GL114266Effect of Satellite Spatial Resolution on Submesoscale Variance in Ocean Color and TemperatureLuke Carberry0David A. Siegel1Nicholas J. Nidzieko2Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science University of California Santa Barbara CA USAEarth Research Institute University of California Santa Barbara CA USAEarth Research Institute University of California Santa Barbara CA USAAbstract The capability of moderate‐spatial‐resolution satellites to accurately resolve submesoscale variations in surface tracers remains an open question, one with relevance to observing physical‐biological interactions in the surface ocean. In this study, we address this question by comparing the variance of two tracers, chlorophyll concentration (Chl) and sea surface temperature (SST), resolved by two satellites—MODIS Aqua, with a resolution of 1.5 km, and Landsat 8/9, with a resolution of 30 m. We quantify tracer variance resolved by both satellites on the submesoscale using spatial variance spectral slopes. We find that MODIS measures significantly higher variance compared to Landsat, in both Chl and SST. This is because, despite higher signal‐to‐noise ratio for MODIS per pixel, Landsat signal‐to‐noise ratio increases considerably when aggregating pixels. Furthermore, by comparing Chl to SST variance for each satellite we find Landsat to be better match to theory for resolving submesoscale physical‐biological interactions.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL114266submesoscaleocean colorvariance spectra |
| spellingShingle | Luke Carberry David A. Siegel Nicholas J. Nidzieko Effect of Satellite Spatial Resolution on Submesoscale Variance in Ocean Color and Temperature Geophysical Research Letters submesoscale ocean color variance spectra |
| title | Effect of Satellite Spatial Resolution on Submesoscale Variance in Ocean Color and Temperature |
| title_full | Effect of Satellite Spatial Resolution on Submesoscale Variance in Ocean Color and Temperature |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Satellite Spatial Resolution on Submesoscale Variance in Ocean Color and Temperature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Satellite Spatial Resolution on Submesoscale Variance in Ocean Color and Temperature |
| title_short | Effect of Satellite Spatial Resolution on Submesoscale Variance in Ocean Color and Temperature |
| title_sort | effect of satellite spatial resolution on submesoscale variance in ocean color and temperature |
| topic | submesoscale ocean color variance spectra |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL114266 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lukecarberry effectofsatellitespatialresolutiononsubmesoscalevarianceinoceancolorandtemperature AT davidasiegel effectofsatellitespatialresolutiononsubmesoscalevarianceinoceancolorandtemperature AT nicholasjnidzieko effectofsatellitespatialresolutiononsubmesoscalevarianceinoceancolorandtemperature |