Managed by PML.
Collaborating with AMT.
Funded by the EU and ESA
Funded by the European Commission European Space Agency logo Copernicus Logo
This project has now evolved in to the AMT4OceanSatFlux project, for further details see the new website here

About the project

The aim of the Copernicus Sentinel Atlantic Meridional Transect Fiducial Reference Measurements Campaign (AMT4SentinelFRM) is to provide high quality Fiducial Reference Measurements (FRM) to validate Sentinel ocean colour and sea surface temperature satellite products.

Sentinel-3 satelliteOcean colour (OC) radiometry and sea surface temperature (SST) are fundamental oceanographic parameters necessary to monitor and manage the marine ecosystem for aquaculture, fisheries, water quality, mapping and monitoring harmful algal blooms, and in terms of its response to climate change. The development of Copernicus satellites Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 that carry state-of-the-art instruments for the measurement of OC and SST represent a means of measuring these parameters globally, over land, coast and ocean, at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. With the advent of the first Sentinel missions, there is a need to provide Fiducial Reference Measurements (FRMs) with consistent quality, high accuracy and reliability for the validation of OC and SST Sentinel products, so that high quality and reliable satellite data can be delivered to the international science community. This can only be achieved through rigorous validation of Sentinel data over a range of environments.

The Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) undertakes research, during the annual passage of a research ship between the UK and the Southern Ocean, as part of the UK government National Capability programme. The AMT provides a unique opportunity to collect in situ data for the validation of Sentinel products in open ocean oligotrophic, eutrophic and coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The main aim of this project is to provide high-quality FRMs for the validation of Sentinel products in a range of Atlantic locations.  The project will deliver FRMs to SI traceable standards using published protocols and methodologies during the AMT26 field campaign during September and October 2016, which will be used for the validation of Sentinel-3 OLCI (Ocean and Land Colour Instrument) and SLSTR (Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer) and Sentinel-2A coastal MSI (Multi-Spectral imaging Instrument). The deployment of along-track autonomous technologies will maximise FRM match-ups with Sentinel overpasses and enable a comprehensive accuracy assessment of Sentinel 2 and 3 OC and SST products over a range of conditions.

A team of researchers, remote-sensing scientists and technicians with long-term experience in the fields of optical radiometry and remote-sensing of ocean colour, infrared sea surface temperature radiometry and C-band radar will undertake this project, under the leadership of Plymouth Marine Laboratory.

Related information

Copernicus programme

AMT programme

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Project Partners

Plymouth Marine Laboratory LogoPlymouth Marine Laboratory Logo
The AMT4SentinelFRM consortium is led by Plymouth Marine Laboratory and includes two partners as subcontractors: the University of Southampton and the Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer, Plouzane, France (IFREMER). The European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) is also involved as an external party on Copernicus validation activities.

Funding

European commission logoEuropean Space Agency logoCopernicus logo
 

AMT4Sentinel is funded by the European Union and the European Space Agency under the Copernicus programme.