Abstract
Coastal waters are the richest parts of ocean ecosystems characterised by dynamic changes in water biology, physical and chemical features. Establishing local relationships between water constituents and optical properties in these areas will help to develop successful ocean colour algorithms allowing a thorough understanding of complex coastal waters and improving water quality monitoring. In this paper, the authors present the use of optical and biogeochemical measurements in complex aquatic environments and aim to create a semi-empirical model of remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs(λi)) for four wavelengths (λi = 420 nm, 488 nm, 555 nm, and 620 nm) based on multiparameter algorithms of absorption (a(λi)) and backscattering (bb(λi)) coefficients. The bio-optical properties of water were determined based on empirical data gathered from aboard the r/v Oceania from April 2007 to March 2010 in chosen areas of the southern Baltic (Polish coast). The analyses reveal that Rrs(λi) in the studied area can be described with satisfactory accuracy using a five-parameter model. Positive results with a statistical error magnitude of Rrs(λi) of less than 50% were achieved for all four applied wavelengths. Bio-optical algorithms proposed by the authors enable evaluating biogeochemical characteristics of coastal areas in a broader context of ecosystem assessment and contribute significantly to the development of Earth and environmental sciences.
Highlights
As a typical coastal environment, these waters are characterised by specific physical conditions such as limited light penetration and high rates of transport and sedimentation of organic suspended particulate matter (SPMorg ) and inorganic suspended particulate matter (SPMinorg )
We observed a positive correlation between aph (488), ad (488), aCDOM (488), and bbp (488)
We see that correlation between aph (488) and chlorophyll a (Chl a) is better than the relationships: ad (488)-SPM, aCDOM (488)aCDOM (400), and bbp (488)-SPM. This relationship is the most linear in contrast to the correlation between aCDOM (488) and aCDOM (400), which was the nature of absorption by coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is complex due to the variety of chemical structures of dissolved substances in natural waters and the differentiation of the interaction of their molecules with electromagnetic radiation
Summary
The remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs ) is a crucial parameter in optical oceanography and is often used for the development of algorithms to estimate bio-optical components of seawater. Diffusion of light upon interaction with matter depends on the types and concentrations of the water components. Suspended and dissolved matter changes the optical properties of water, in bays and coastal areas. The coastal waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk (the southern part of the Baltic Sea, Poland) are areas of high diversity and dynamic changes in physical and chemical properties of water, making this area an ideal location to study optical properties of water. There are many algorithms for estimating surface concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) based on remote-sensing measurements [1,2]. Coastal waters and bays known as Case 2 waters [3] are influenced not just by phytoplankton and by other substances that vary independently of phytoplankton
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