Application of an optical remote sensing model

Abstract

A simplified two-flow model derived from the radiative transfer problem applicable to a water column is described and applied. The application of the model to reflectance signatures measured in Delaware Bay estuarine waters is described. The shapes of the reflectance signatures compare nicely with field data, although the absolute magnitudes of reflectance are different. The model could be improved if a more realistic non-homogeneous model is applied or actual absorption coefficients were measured. An analytic two-flow model was developed and the sensitivity analysis runs for estimating radiance reflectance (nadir view geometry) above the water surface suggest that the most important in-situ parameters are absorption coefficient, the internal diffuse reflectance coefficient, and the backscatter coefficient.