A near‐real time automatic MODIS data processing system

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on-board the Aqua and Terra platforms was designed to improve understanding of global dynamics and processes occurring on the land, in the oceans, and in the lower atmosphere. The UK Dundee Satellite Receiving Station has two X-band receiving systems capable of capturing direct broadcast data from these spacecraft with a range covering the European shelf-areas, north-east Atlantic ocean and the western Mediterranean Sea. Raw data are transferred to the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) and processed in near-real time into ocean colour and sea-surface temperature products for the academic community. Data can be used operationally and are made available through the web within 1.5 hours of the satellite overpass time. To our knowledge this is the only such developed system in Europe producing near-real time MODIS ocean colour products.