Ushering in a New Era of Aquatic Monitoring with Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO)

Satellite remote sensing of ocean color yields a synoptic vantage point of living and non-living microscopic materials in the aquatic environment and offers critical insights into ecosystem variability, function, health, and vulnerability. However, to date, the operational utility of this data stream has been hindered by several factors like infrequent coverage, persistent cloud cover, sub-optimal resolution for near-shore environments, regional algorithm biases, and complex aerosol interference in coastal areas. Lacking reliability, it remains understandably challenging for managers to commit the use of ocean color data to make scientifically (and legally) defensible, informed decisions for coastal and fisheries management. Recognizing these challenges, the upcoming Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) mission, developed through a partnership between NOAA and NASA, promises to enhance the operational utility of ocean color by conducting these observations from two positions in geostationary orbit using a new state of the art hyperspectral radiometric ocean color sensor, which we refer to as OCX. While it may seem counterintuitive, placing a satellite at over 50 times the distance from typical low-Earth orbit (LEO) vantage point for the current generation of ocean color sensing satellites, and into a geostationary Earthorbit (GEO), provides a significant advancement in observational capabilities. With a continuous view of the entire disk, OCX on GeoXO will be capable of obtaining ocean color measurements with greater persistence, low latency and the ability to task the sensor to any location within the instruments’ hemispherical field of regard. Combined with data from GeoXO’s other instruments, OCX will be able to perform dynamic tasking to avoid clouds which otherwise could spoil an observation and enables more efficient use of valuable observing time. The GeoXO mission represents a long-term investment that the United States is making to create an integrated space monitoring system as dynamic in time and space as the resources it aims to manage, converging at a cadence and resolution of data designed to better support decision making with ecosystem science.