Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM
Monday, March 26, 2012 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium
Charles McClain
"The Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) Mission in Retrospect"
ABSTRACT -- SeaWiFS was a NASA data buy contract originally signed with Orbital Sciences Corporation in 1991 (subsequently the contract was transferred to Orbital Imaging Corporation which later became GeoEye). GSFC managed the contract and was responsible for providing "climate quality" data products to the research community. The mission was launched in August 1997 and operated for thirteen years providing the longest time series of global ocean color data to date. This seminar will review the accomplishments of this rather unique mission including some of the innovative approaches developed for sensor calibration and validation, field data collection, and data processing and distribution. Many of the lessons learned are being applied to the processing of other missions including the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Visible-Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).
SPEAKER -- Dr. Charles McClain has worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) since1978. He received a Ph.D. in marine science from North Carolina State in 1976 and was a National Research Council post-doctoral fellow at the Navy Research Laboratory from 1976-1978. His work at GSFC has focused on satellite ocean color in various roles ranging from climate research to project management and has been involved in a number of sensors including the Nimbus-7/Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS), the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS, Terra and Aqua), and the Visible-Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). He is presently serving on the PACE mission science definition team. With respect to the SeaWiFS project, the topic of this seminar, he served in various capacities over the course of the mission including Calibration and Validation Manager, Project Scientist, and Project Manager. He is presently leads the Ocean Ecology Laboratory, Code 616.