The remote sensing algorithm of spectral diffuse attenuation coefficient of ocean

Diffuse attenuation coefficient is an apparent optical property (AOP) which directly links to the inherent optical properties in ocean color remote sensing. So far, the study on the satellite retrieve algorithm of water diffuse attenuation coefficient has not been deeply-going, which is mainly discussed using the bands-ratio methods based on the in situ data. Only a few scientists apply the remote sensing data (such as SeaWiFS and MODIS) to retrieve the diffuse attenuation coefficient based on the model developed by Mueller (2002). In this paper, a quasi-analytical algorithm of spectral diffuse attenuation coefficients were developed based on the QAA algorithm of the inherent optical properties (IOPs) developed by Lee (2002). The model could retrieve multi-bands of the diffuse attenuation coefficients at 412 nm, 443 nm, 490 nm, 510 nm and 555nm wavelength. The in-situ optical dataset of South China Sea in 1999 was used to validate the model, and the results showed that the model had a good performance in the case I water in South China Sea, and the relative errors were 15.4%, 12.6%, 13.3%, 10.2%, 11.9%, 9.8% and 10.3% for the 412 nm, 443 nm, 490 nm, 510 nm, 520 nm, 555nm and 565 nm bands respectively. For the complex case II water, the model should be further localized and tested.