Estimating specific inherent optical properties of tropical coastal waters using bio-optical model inversion and in situ measurements: case of the Berau estuary, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Specific inherent optical properties (SIOP) of the Berau coastal waters were derived from in situ measurements and inversion of an ocean color model. Field measurements of water-leaving reflectance, total suspended matter (TSM), and chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentrations were carried out during the 2007 dry season. The highest values for SIOP were found in the turbid waters, decreasing in value when moving toward offshore waters. The specific backscattering coefficient of TSM varied by an order of magnitude and ranged from 0.003 m2 g-1, for clear open ocean waters, to 0.020 m2 g-1, for turbid waters. On the other hand, the specific absorption coefficient of Chl a was relatively constant over the whole study area and ranged from 0.022 m2 mg-1, for the turbid shallow estuary waters, to 0.027 m2 mg-1, for deeper shelf edge ocean waters. The spectral slope of colored dissolved organic matter light absorption was also derived with values ranging from 0.015 to 0.011 nm-1. These original derived values of SIOP in the Berau estuary form a corner stone for future estimation of TSM and Chl a concentration from remote sensing data in tropical equatorial water

Satellite estimates of wide-range suspended sediment concentrations in Changjiang (Yangtze) estuary using MERIS data

The Changjiang (Yangtze) estuarine and coastal waters are characterized by suspended sediments over a wide range of concentrations from 20 to 2,500 mg l-1. Suspended sediment plays important roles in the estuarine and coastal system and environment. Previous algorithms for satellite estimates of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) showed a great limitation in that only low to moderate concentrations (up to 50 mg l-1) could be reliably estimated. In this study, we developed a semi-empirical radiative transfer (SERT) model with physically based empirical coefficients to estimate SSC from MERIS data over turbid waters with a much wider range of SSC. The model was based on the Kubelka–Munk two-stream approximation of radiative transfer theory and calibrated using datasets from in situ measurements and outdoor controlled tank experiments. The results show that the sensitivity and saturation level of remote-sensing reflectance to SSC are dependent on wavelengths and SSC levels. Therefore, the SERT model, coupled with a multi-conditional algorithm scheme adapted to satellite retrieval of wide-range SSC, was proposed. Results suggest that this method is more effective and accurate in the estimation of SSC over turbid water

Remote Sensing of Water Quality, Demonstrating the Capabilities of Sentinel-2 for the Nile Delta

This paper describes a hydro-optical model for deriving water quality variables from satellite images, hereafter HydroSat. HydroSat corrects images for atmospheric interferences and simultaneously retrieves water quality variables. An application of HydroSat to Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) observations over the Rosetta Branch of the Nile River demonstrates that reliable estimates of water quality are obtained. For example, the impact of the many water inlets along the Rosetta on the water quality can be very well identified. Quantitatively, the accuracy of the derived products is assessed via comparison with the output of a validated water quality process model for the Rosetta Branch. This matchup between the HydroSat and process model's output results in determination coefficients, R2 s, larger than 0.6 for all derived water quality variables. It should be noted that derivation of water quality variables using Hydro-Sat does not rely on any tuning parameters. Hence, the successful application of HydroSat to Landsat-ETM data could also be seen as a demonstration of the future Sentinel-2 capabilities for mapping water quality over rivers and inland lakes