A multispectral remote sensing study of coastal waters off Vancouver Island.

In March 1996, a multispectral aircraft survey of the coastal waters off Vancouver Island was carried out using a Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI). This survey was combined with in situ measurements of water properties (phytoplankton composition, phytoplankton pigments, absorption spectra of phytoplankton, and concentration of dissolved organic carbon, or DOC). Comparison of the phytoplankton absorption data from this experiment with similar data from other regions shows that phytoplankton community has a significant impact on the spectral form and magnitude of absorption spectra, when normalized to unit chlorophyll-a. Concurrent measurements of in situ properties and aircraft data were obtained at eight stations. The in situ measurements of phytoplankton absorption and estimates of downwelling irradiance based on a clear-sky atmospheric-transmission model are used as inputs to a model of water-leaving irradiance. The modelled irradiances are compared with the remotely sensed values of water-leaving radiances. The observed differences between model and observation are used to evaluate the potential influence of DOC on water-leaving radiance. Practical difficulties of separating the phytoplankton signal from that of the coloured component of DOC (also known as yellow substance) are examined. Algorithms for estimation of the concentration of chlorophyll-a (the major phytoplankton pigment) can be based on their absorption or fluorescence properties. The distribution of chlorophyll-a in the study area is estimated using both these approaches, and possible causes for the observed discrepancies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]