https://cdn.earthdata.nasa.gov/conduit/upload/5182/KeywordsCommunityGuide_Baseline_v1_SIGNED_FINAL.pdf 23.8 2026-04-29T10:52:37.449Z https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/KeywordViewer/scheme/projects/5c696373-4b32-46ad-907c-5a303b3b978c SIMBIOS The Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological andInterdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) program was conceived in1994 as a result of a NASA management review of the agency's strategyfor monitoring the bio-optical properties of the global ocean throughocean color remote sensing from space.The initial SIMBIOS program is scoped for five years (1997-2001) andincludes support for the science team (NASA Research Announcement(NRA) selections) and the project office. In 1995, the InternationalOcean Colour-Coordinating Group (IOCCG) was formed to undertake theorganization of an international SIMBIOS program. The IOCCG presentlyoperates under the auspices of the Scientific Committee on OceanicResearch (SCOR) and chairmanship of Dr. Trevor Platt.The NASA program consists of the SIMBIOS Science Team and the SIMBIOSProject Office. The SIMBIOS Science Team, as initially defined by theNRA selections, was expanded to include additional investigations foratmospheric correction algorithm validation. The SIMBIOS program issubstantially augmented by the participation of the NASA-supportedMODIS Oceans Team and SeaWiFS Calibration and Validation program.SIMBIOS collaborators associated with other relevant programs andscience teams who contribute data, algorithms, etc., are given accessto SIMBIOS Project resources in return, e.g., access to the SeaWiFSBio-optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS). Besides providingadministrative and contract support for the science team, the SIMBIOSProject Office is scoped to support four primary activities: dataproduct validation, sensor calibration, data merger algorithmevaluation, and satellite data processing.The SIMBIOS Project has created a pool of ocean bio-opticalinstruments, the use of which will be shared between NASA-supported,U.S. investigators contributing to the SIMBIOS program. This'Instrument Pool' is an attempt to provide a cost-effectiveenhancement to the overall capabilities of the SIMBIOS Science Team,and to provide backup in case of failure of a critical instrumentduring an experiment. The equipment in the Instrument Pool arepurchased and maintained by individual SIMBIOS principalinvestigators, but deployment schedules and priorities are coordinatedby the Project Office with the advice of the Science Team. To bettersupport validation of algorithms for atmospheric corrections andaerosol property retrievals, the SIMBIOS Project Office hasestablished a close working collaboration with the Aerosol Network(AERONET) project, which maintains and operates a worldwide network ofsun-tracking photometers. The NASA AERONET program is managed GSFCpersonnel. The Project Office has purchased equipment for nineadditional island and coastal sun-photometer stations to be added tothe AERONET, and has linked the AERONET archives to SeaBASS. Inaddition, the Project Office maintains a pool of hand-held sunphotometers, which are calibrated by the GSFC AERONET investigatorsand are made available to SIMBIOS investigators during fieldexperimentsFor more detailed information on SIMBIOS visithttp://simbios.gsfc.nasa.gov/For a list of SIMBIOS investigators visit'http://simbios.gsfc.nasa.gov/pi_links.html'Revision_Date: 1999-12-14