Top of Atmosphere, Hyperspectral Synthetic Dataset for PACE (Phytoplankton, Aerosol, and ocean Ecosystem) Ocean Color Algorithm Development

This synthetic dataset was created to provide a measurement error-free hyperspectral (350-800 nm, 5 nm resolution) dataset as part of research performed by the first NASA PACE (Plankton, Aerosols, Cloud, and Ocean Ecosystem) Science Team (NNH13ZDA001N-PACEST). A synthetic dataset of sea surface and top of atmosphere (TOA) radiances were constructed by a Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Radiative Transfer (COART) model (Du and Lee, 2014) based on the SBDART (Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer) code (Ricchiazzi et al. 1998), with ocean contribution simulated by Hydrolight (Mobley, 2008). Water-leaving radiance (Lw) was forward modelled with Hydrolight with a solar zenith angle of 30°, cloudless sky, a sea surface state corresponding to a wind speed of 5 m/s, and realistic concentrations of optically active water constituents. The Hydrolight component of the model was constrained using inherent optical properties (IOPs) whose dynamic ranges and spectral qualities were based on real, in situ data acquired from the NASA SeaBASS dataset (https://seabass.gsfc.nasa.gov/) and that represent realistic in situ conditions. Certain characteristics of the IOPs were semi-randomly modelled based on principles outlined in IOCCG Report No.5 (2006) and summarised in the accompanying pdf document provided along with this dataset. Atmospheric conditions were simulated by coupling the water-leaving radiances to an atmosphere with and without absorbing gases, and with an aerosol optical depth (AOD) that varied between 0.1-0.8.