Sentinel-3 OLCI validation over small water bodies

This project, funded by the Water Research Commision of South Africa, in collaboration with the University of Cape Town and the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), focused on conducting field validation campaigns to match with Sentinel-3 OLCI satellite overpasses, and assessing the satellites capability for routine monitoring of eutrophication in smaller water bodies. The Sentinel-3 mission, part of the European Union's Earth Observation Programme, Copernicus, operates twin satellites that are equipped with multiple instruments to monitor Earth's oceans, land, ice, and atmosphere. The Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI), is a medium-resolution imaging spectrometer that captures visible and near-infrared wavelengths of sunlight reflected off Earth's surface. It measures in 21 spectral bands and covers a swath width of approximately 1,270 kilometers, allowing for near-daily global coverage. OLCI's design is based on its predecessor, the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) on Envisat, but with significant enhancements in spectral and spatial resolution. Considering the difficulties of operational monitoring of inland water bodies, OLCI was successful in estimating trophic status for small water bodies in South Africa. However, the 300m pixels are still a bit coarse for highly dynamic and productive waters and the tilted camera aboard the satellite could induce signal contamination and retrieval erros for targets away from nadir viewing.