Premium
Relationship between the Q factor and inherent optical properties: Relevance to ocean‐colour inversion algorithms
Author(s) -
Devred E.,
Sathyendranath S.,
Platt T.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2007gl030764
Subject(s) - radiance , zenith , solar zenith angle , remote sensing , irradiance , ocean color , inversion (geology) , satellite , environmental science , upwelling , algorithm , geology , physics , optics , computer science , paleontology , oceanography , structural basin , astronomy
Conversion between upwelling irradiance and radiance at the sea surface, essential for some aspects of remote sensing of ocean colour, requires knowledge of the Q factor. The Q factor depends on solar zenith angle, satellite viewing angle and the optical properties of the water. For simulated data for two fixed solar zenith angles, we express the Q factor as a function of total absorption and backscattering coefficients. The new parameterisation is used in an algorithm to retrieve total water backscattering from in situ ocean‐colour data. The algorithm performs better than those in which the Q factor is expressed as a function of chlorophyll‐a concentration alone.