Advancing ocean health monitoring: development of the fluorescence lidar for ocean research: Airborne (FLOR-A) Instrument

Phytoplankton biomass and composition are crucial indicators of ocean ecosystem productivity and health, influenced by nutrient availability, water quality, and environmental conditions. Coastal areas face growing threats from pollution, including plastic waste and degraded water quality. Understanding the relationships between phytoplankton dynamics, biogeochemical processes, and pollution is essential for mitigating these impacts. The NASA Instrument Incubator Program has selected BAE Systems, Inc. Space & Mission Systems to develop the Fluorescence Lidar for Ocean Research – Airborne (FLOR-A) instrument, which addresses this need. FLOR-A is an airborne ocean lidar that vertically resolves the water column through detection of backscatter at its transmit wavelengths of 355 and 532nm and employs a spectrometer with modest resolution to measure ocean-column-integrated laser-induced fluorescence and Raman returns. FLOR-A enables day and night observations and improves our understanding of complex water compositions and pollution. By extending active ocean color measurements beyond the surface, FLOR-A offers a powerful tool for assessing and mitigating the effects of pollution on coastal ecosystems.