Validation of Ocean Color Remote Sensing Reflectance Using Autonomous Floats

The use of autonomous proling oats for observational estimates of radiometric quantities in the ocean is explored, and the use of this platform for validation of satellite-based estimates of remote sensing reectance in the ocean is examined. This effort includes comparing quantities estimated from oat and satellite data at nominal wavelengths of 412, 443, 488, and 555 nm, and examining sources and magnitudes of uncertainty in the oat estimates. This study had 65 occurrences of coincident high-quality observations from oats and MODIS Aqua and 15 occurrences of coincident high-quality observations oats and Visible Infrared Imaging Radi-ometer Suite (VIIRS). The oat estimates of remote sensing reectance are similar to the satellite estimates, with disagreement of a few percent in most wavelengths. The variability of the oatsatellite comparisons is similar to the variability of in situsatellite comparisons using a validation dataset from the Marine Optical Buoy (MOBY). This, combined with the agreement of oat-based and satellite-based quantities, suggests that oats are likely a good platform for validation of satellite-based estimates of remote sensing reectance