The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) was launched aboard the Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) in June 2010. Developed for South Korea, GOCI was the world’s first ocean color sensor placed in geostationary orbit. It was designed for near-real-time monitoring of marine environments in Northeast Asia, covering a 2,500 × 2,500 km region around the Korean Peninsula centered at 36°N and 130°E. GOCI acquired observations at approximately 500 m spatial resolution, collecting data hourly during daytime up to eight times per day. Its coverage was composed of sixteen 4 × 4 slot images.

GOCI measurements support the retrieval of ocean color products such as chlorophyll concentration, diffuse attenuation coefficients, colored dissolved organic matter, and suspended particles in near-surface waters. In operational oceanography, these satellite-derived products can be used together with numerical models and in situ measurements to support monitoring, forecasting, and nowcasting of ocean conditions.

Read the GOCI calibration/validation research overview document.