Interpretation of remote sensing measurements over Madura Bay from in situ radiometric and biochemical data

Abstract

Data on underwater spectral irradiance, air-borne radiance and biochemical sea truth were collected, processed and interpreted in terms of the distribution of suspended and dissolved seawater constituents. Two approaches can be applied. In the first approach, the predicted spectral characteristics of the different particulate and dissolved substances have been used for the development of semi-empirical algorithms in order to determine their concentrations. The second approach is a rigorous application of radiative transfer theory. From inverse modelling specific spectral absorption and scattering coefficients, which are closely related to the concentrations of the various marine materials, can be found. Model calculations confirm the experimental findings, revealing extreme increasein reflectance and decrease in the upwelling irradiance attenuation coefficient at the chlorophyll fluorescence wavelengths. The applicability and the accuracy of the algorithms are determined by the accuracy of the measurements and the validity of the chosen radiative transfer model. Algorithms have been evaluated and applied to the air-borne data. The final objective of the work is the interpretation of satellite imagery.