Temporal Variability of Coastal Waters in Mississippi Bight and New York Bight Sea WiFS and MODIS.

摘要

We demonstrate the utility of SeaWiFS and MODIS to determine coastal optical properties for a one-year period. Optical properties derived from SeaWiFS and MODIS are compared for coastal waters in the Mississippi Bight and the New York Bight. A one-year time series from January 2001 to December 2001 with varying time scales (yearly, monthly, and eight-day composites) were processed with similar processing algorithms to determine the inherent optical properties (absorption and backscattering) of the coastal waters. The similar spectral and spatial resolution and repeat cycles of these sensors provide new methods to determine the temporal changes in the coastal processes. We assess the temporal and spatial variability and regional dependence of the optics in both regions. Processing of MODIS and SeaWiFS imagery was performed using modified NASA standard atmospheric correction methods. For both satellites, a near-infrared (NIR) atmospheric correction method (Arnone et al, 1998) based on the assumption that the normalized water-leaving radiance, nLw, at 765- and 865- nm is not zero in the high turbid waters was applied. For both SeaWiFS and MODIS, this correction reduces the number of negative radiance values and improves the estimation of optical properties in the highly turbid coastal region.