Estuarine surface suspended sediment concentration for LANDSAT

Abstract

A practical method for calibrating LANDSAT multispectral scanner imagery from estuarine and coastal water areas in terms of the standard output quantity of near-surface irradiance reflectance ratio has been developed and tested. The algorithm consists of radiometric correction, atmospheric and surface corrections, and the calculation of reflectance ratio - found to be the most useful output parameter. The algorithm has been extended to produce a multi-date calibration in terms of suspended sediment concentration for imagery of the Solent area. This was obtained through statistical analysis of satellite-data-derived reflectance ratios and synoptic measured sediment concentrations. It achieved a correlation of 0.98 and the ability to predict sediment concentration to a root mean square error of 3.7 mg/l in a concentration range from 5.9 to 53.2 mg/l. The development of the algorithm includes the review of previous work, the study of the satellite system and data content and format, and an analysis of the theoretical arguments for atmospheric and surface corrections and subsurface optical processes including depth and sea bed reflection effects. Conclusions are reached about the expected size and source of errors in the calculation of reflectance ratio and the use of relevant standard image processing techniques - some of which were further developed in this work. The algorithm has been implemented at the NRSC, RAE Farnborough and applied to imagery from the Bristol Channel, the Mersey/Dee area, the Christchurch and Poole Bays area, and the Solent area - mainly for testing of the model rather than for oceanographic interpretation. Boatwork was carried out to try to test the algorithm by comparison of processed imagery with measured suspended sediment concentration and reflectance ratio.

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