A three-band semi-analytical model for deriving total suspended sediment concentration from HJ-1A/CCD data in turbid coastal waters

Abstract

The accurate assessment of total suspended sediment (TSM) concentration in coastal waters by means of remote sensing is quite challenging, due to the optical complexity and significant variability of these waters. In this study, three-band semi-analytical TSM retrieval (TSTM) model with HJ-1A/CCD spectral bands was developed for the retrieval of TSM concentration from turbid coastal waters. This model was calibrated and validated by means of one calibration dataset and three independent validation datasets obtained from three different turbid waters. It was found that the TSTM model may be used to retrieve accurate TSM concentration data from highly turbid waters without the spectral slope of the model requiring further optimization. Finally, the TSM concentration data were quantified from the HJ-1A/CCD images after atmospheric correction using the dark-object subtraction technique. Upon comparing the model-derived and field-measured TSM concentration data, it was observed that the TSTM model produced <29% uncertainty in deriving TSM concentration from the HJ-1A/CCD data. These findings imply that the TSTM model may be used for the quantitative monitoring of TSM concentration in coastal waters, provided that the atmospheric correction scheme for the HJ-1A/CCD imagery is available.