EO·Atlas
Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI)
Compiled from public sources on 2026-06-16. Not independently verified by Thales Alenia Space.
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Ocean and land colour imaging instrument flown on Sentinel-3.
The Ocean and Land Colour Instrument is a passive optical push-broom imaging radiometer carried by the Sentinel-3 series for ocean and land colour observation.[1][2] It measures 21 spectral bands at 300 m resolution across all surfaces, with a 1270 km swath for wide-area marine and terrestrial coverage.[1][3] The operational band set is specified across 400-1020 nm; a broader 400-1200 nm instrument coverage statement is also associated with OLCI, so buyers comparing archives should check the exact band table used by each product feed.[3][2] OLCI carries Envisat MERIS heritage and adds bands plus improved signal-to-noise and glint-handling characteristics for modern ocean-colour processing.[1][2] Its demonstrated use includes ocean-colour water-leaving radiance retrieval on Sentinel-3B, making it relevant to chlorophyll, coastal water-quality and cross-mission continuity workflows where moderate-resolution visible/NIR radiometry is the controlling requirement.[1]
Compositional position
- Ocean colour / water-leaving radiancevia Sentinel-3B
OLCI demonstrates ocean-colour and land-colour retrieval on Sentinel-3B.
None on record.
- [1]Copernicus SentiWiki Sentinel-3 missionagency doc2026-06-16
- [2]Sentinel-3 facts and figures, ESAagency doc2026-06-16
- [3]Copernicus Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI), NASA LAADSagency doc2026-06-16