Ocean Dynamics Observed by VIIRS Day/Night Band Satellite Observations

Three cases of Day/Night Band (DNB) observations of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) are explored for applications to assess the ocean environment and monitor ocean dynamics. An approach to use the ratio between the target radiance and the reference radiance was developed in order to better assess the ocean diurnal and short-term environmental changes with VIIRS DNB observations. In the La Plata River Estuary, the sediment fronts showed 20–25 km diurnal inshore-offshore movements on 13 March 2017. In the waters off the coast of Argentina in the South Atlantic, VIIRS DNB measurements provided both daytime and nighttime observations and monitoring of the algal bloom development and migration between 24 and 26 March 2016. This algal bloom generally kept the same spatial patterns, but moved nearly 20 km eastward in the three-day period. In the Yangtze River Estuary and Hangzhou Bay region along China’s east coast, VIIRS DNB observations also revealed complicated coastal dynamic changes between 12 and 14 April 2017. Even though there are still some challenges and limitations for monitoring the ocean environment with VIIRS DNB observations, this study shows that satellite DNB observations can provide additional data sources for ocean observations, especially observations during the nighttime.