The marine optical buoy (MOBY) measures light at and very near the sea surface in a specific location over a long period of time, serving as part of an ocean color observation system.
The Marine Optical Buoy helps alleviate that interference and thus improve the quality of the overall ocean color observation system.
Some of this light leaves the water to again travel through the atmosphere and out into space, carrying the color of whatever it struck.
At the sea surface, light coming down through the atmosphere enters the collector at the top of MOBY's antenna column.
The communications system aboard MOBY daily transmits much of the light measurement data to operators on shore.
MOBY has contributed to the calibration of the Ocean Color and Temperature Sensor (OCTS), the polarization detection environmental radiometer (POLDER), and the Modular Optoelectronic Scanner (IRS1-MOS).
[2] Long term sensors on the sea surface, such as MOBY, help improve the quality of the global ocean color observation system.