GeoXO’s OCX Instrument Will Be Game Changer for Satellite Ocean Observations

After nearly 50 years of GOES satellites providing critical Earth-observing data and imagery, NOAA is working on its next generation series of advanced geostationary satellites—the Geostationary Extended Observations mission, or GeoXO.

GeoXO will host a payload of new instruments that will provide unprecedented information for addressing our changing planet and the evolving needs of NOAA’s data users.

One of those instruments being developed by BAE Systems is the Ocean Color Instrument (OCX), which will provide fine-scale data about the U.S. coastal waters and the Great Lakes from geostationary orbit.

Current ocean color instruments on NOAA’s polar-orbiting satellites orbit around certain areas only once or twice a day. This makes them especially vulnerable to passing over a water body that is shrouded in clouds or reflecting “sun glint,” both of which can obscure the data the satellites receive.

Geostationary satellites, however, orbit at the same speed that the planet rotates—allowing them to hover over the same part of the globe constantly. Not only does this reduce the cloud cover and sunglint issue, it allows them to continuously monitor a specific area to track both short-term and longer-term ocean and coastal ecosystem changes.

“I always thought geostationary remote sensing makes a lot of sense,” said Jack Pan, Founder of Ocean Motion Technologies, which focuses on marine hydrokinetic energy for small-scale applications. “OCX will provide us with near real-time, high-resolution data that is essential for monitoring ocean conditions and making informed decisions that benefit our clients in ocean science and conservation.”

This more frequent and finer-scale data will be a game changer compared to the current measurements from polar-orbiting satellites. In fact, OCX will provide updated ocean and lake data at least every three hours, which is critical for end-users who need to track rapid changes in ocean biology and coastal ocean dynamics.