The application of Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) imagery to determining quantitative measurements of bio-optical properties requires accurate methods of eliminating the large signal component due to the atmosphere. Present atmosphere correction techniques based on single-scattering theory have produced encouraging results. These results, however, are limited by the proper selection of aerosol characteristics that accurately represent the entire image. An interactive method is suggested for selecting the optimum Angstrom coefficient over an entire image that utilizes the fact that the Angstrom coefficient is wavelength dependent on the aerosol optical thickness. This interactive technique permits a real-time display of the results and grossly indicates the horizontal distribution of the aerosol types. Results of the method are applied to a sequence of CZCS imagery of the Alboran Sea. Analyses indicate that the Angstrom coefficient selections were independent of the bio-optical properties calculated from the ratio of the water-leaving radiance of 443- to 550-nm channels of CZCS.

Date Published: 27 September 1984
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 0489, Ocean Optics VII, (27 September 1984); doi: 10.1117/12.943304

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0489:
Ocean Optics VII
Marvin A. Blizard, Editor(s)