BackForwardInstrument:  COCTS 

Instrument details
Acronym COCTS
Full name China Ocean Colour & Temperature Scanner
Purpose Ocean colour and sea surface temperature
Short description 10 channels (8 narrow-bandwidth in VNIR, 2 in TIR) [see detailed characteristics below]. On HY-1C and follow-on, COCTS is supported by a 2-channel Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) to improve the atmospheric correction accuracy of high turbid water in the near shore and, in addition, a 10-channel Satellite Calibration Spectrometer (SCS) to cross-calibrate the 8 VNIR channels of COCTS and the 2 channels of UVI
Background Consolidated technology
Scanning Technique Cross-track scanning. 1024 pixel/line, swath 1800 km (increased to 2900 km in HY-1C and HY-1D)
Resolution 1.1 km s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle Global daily coverage for short-wave channels, two coverages/day for TIR channels
Mass 50 kg Power 70 W Data Rate 670 kbps

 

Providing Agency NSOAS
Instrument Maturity Flown on operational programme
Utilization Period: 2002 to 2026
Last update: 2021-06-22
Detailed characteristics

Central wavelength

Bandwidth

SNR or NE∆T @ specified input 

412 nm

20 nm

349 @ 91.0 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

443 nm

20 nm

472 @ 84.1 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

490 nm

20 nm

467 @ 65.6 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

520 nm

20 nm

448 @ 54.6 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

565 nm

20 nm

417 @ 45.7 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

670 nm

20 nm

309 @ 24.6 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

750 nm

40 nm

319 @ 16.1 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

865 nm

40 nm

327 @ 10.9 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

11.0 μm

1.0 μm

0.2 K @ 300 K

12.0 μm

1.0 μm

0.2 K @ 300 K
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Passive optical radiometer or spectrometer
  • Moderate resolution optical imager
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • Narrow-band or hyperspectral imagers
  • Narrow-band imager (for ocean colour)
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Aerosol Optical Depth
  • Aerosol column burden
  • Biomass
  • Colour Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM)
  • Earth surface albedo
  • Fraction of Absorbed PAR (FAPAR)
  • Leaf Area Index (LAI)
  • Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
  • Ocean Diffuse Attenuation Coefficient (DAC)
  • Ocean chlorophyll concentration
  • Ocean suspended sediments concentration
  • Oil spill cover
  • Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)
  • Sea surface temperature
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Aerosol column burden*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS (with narrow bandwidth) and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level aerosol
Aerosol effective radius3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS (with narrow bandwidth) and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level aerosol
Aerosol mass mixing ratio3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS (with narrow bandwidth) and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level aerosol
Aerosol Optical Depth*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS (with narrow bandwidth) and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level aerosol
Aerosol type3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS (with narrow bandwidth) and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level aerosol
Biomass*5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Index only.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels. Biomass inferred from NDVI
Cloud cover3 - highNo specific limitation.VIS, NIR and TIR channels
Cloud optical depth4 - fairLow-density cloud only.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Cloud top height4 - fairNo specific limitation.TIR window channels to estimate cloud top height from its temperature
Cloud top temperature4 - fairNo specific limitation.TIR window channels
Cloud type4 - fairDaylight only.VIS and TIR channels
Colour Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM)*4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Many narrow-bandwith VIS channels, suitable for more water types, in open ocean
Downward short-wave irradiance at Earth surface5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.VIS and NIR channels
Earth surface albedo*5 - marginalCloud sensitive.VIS channels
Fire fractional cover4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.VIS and TIR channels
Fire radiative power5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.TIR channels
Fire temperature5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.TIR channels
Fraction of Absorbed PAR (FAPAR)*3 - highCloud sensitive.VIS channels including Red at 700 nm
Land surface temperature4 - fairCloud sensitive.TIR split window channels around 11 micrometers for water vapour correction
Leaf Area Index (LAI)*4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels. LAI inferred from NDVI
Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)*3 - highCloud sensitive.VIS and NIR channels
Ocean chlorophyll concentration *4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Many narrow-bandwith VIS channels, suitable for more water types, in open ocean
Ocean Diffuse Attenuation Coefficient (DAC)*4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Many narrow-bandwith VIS channels, suitable for more water types, in open ocean
Ocean suspended sediments concentration*4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Many narrow-bandwith VIS channels, suitable for more water types, in open ocean
Oil spill cover*5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS channels with narrow bandwidth
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)*3 - highCloud sensitive.VIS channels, range accurately sampled
Sea surface temperature*4 - fairCloud sensitive.TIR split window channels around 11 micrometers for water vapour correction
Short-wave cloud reflectance5 - marginalNo specific limitation.VIS and NIR channels
Snow cover4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Soil moisture at surface4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Index only.VIS and TIR window channels. Soil moisture inferred from thermal inertia
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Low troposphere dominant.TIR channels in the 11 micrometers split window
Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA5 - marginalSpectral interpolation needed.. Information on BRDF needed.VIS and NIR channels
Aerosol volcanic ash3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level ashes
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels including 760 nm for high-level ashes
Wind (horizontal)5 - marginalLimited to high latitudes.. Cloud or water vapour tracers needed.TIR channel(s) around 11 micrometers window
Sea-ice cover4 - fairCloud sensitive.VIS, NIR (for contour enhancement) and TIR channels