Relationship between theQfactor and inherent optical properties: Relevance to ocean-colour inversion algorithms

[1] 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.