Abstract
The eighth JPSS VIIRS ocean color Cal/Val field campaign was carried out in the west coastal waters of the United States in March 2023. Onboard the NOAA Ship Bell M Shimada, the field team visited 28 stations off Oregon and Washington. The field observations were focused on the quantities presently amendable from the NOAA VIIRS ocean color observations. They consist of various apparent optical properties (AOPs), such as water-leaving radiance spectra (Lw(λ)), inherent optical properties (IOPs), such as light absorption coefficient (a(λ)) and backscattering coefficient of particles (bbp(λ)), and water biological and biogeochemical properties, such as chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration. Other quantities, such as in-water polarized radiance distribution, above-water hyperspectral polarimetry, and phytoplankton cell counts, were also obtained to help understand the remote sensing problem and develop improved and novel satellite ocean color data products. This document reports the field efforts and achievements of participating teams, with preliminary results. Data synthesis is underway and in-depth analysis will be performed by the NOAA/STAR Ocean Color Science Team.