Regional sea water chlorophyll distribution derived from MODIS for near-real time monitoring

Ocean color products derived from remote sensing satellite data are useful for monitoring the sea water quality such as the concentrations of chlorophyll, sediments and dissolved organic matter. Currently, ocean color products derived from MODIS data can be requested from NASA over the internet. However, due to the bandwidth limitation of most users in this region, and the time delay in data delivery, the products cannot be use for near-real time monitoring of sea water chlorophyll. CRISP operates a MODIS data receiving station for environmental monitoring purposes. MODIS data have been routinely received and processed to level 1B. We have adapted the higher level processing algorithms from the Institutional Algorithms provided by NASA to run in a standalone environment. The implemented algorithms include the MODIS ocean color algorithms. Seasonal chlorophyll concentration composite can be compiled for the region. By comparing the near-real time chlorophyll product with the seasonal composite, anomaly in chlorophyll concentration can be detected.