Pennucci G., Alvarez A., Trees C.
The objective is to determine the location(s) in any given oceanic area during different temporal periods where in situ sampling for Calibration/Validation (Cal/Val) provides the greatest improvement in retrieving accurate radiometric and derived product data (lowest uncertainties). A method is presented to merge satellite imagery with in situ samples and to determine the best in situ sampling strategy suitable for satellite Cal/Val efforts. This methodology uses satellite acquisitions to build a covariance matrix encoding the spatio-temporal ariability of the area of interest. The covariance matrix is used in a Bayesian framework to merge satellite and in situ data providing a product with lower uncertainty. The best in situ location for Cal/Val efforts is retrieved using a design principle (A-optimum design) that looks for minimizing the estimated variance of the merged product.
