Remote sensing reflectance of Pomeranian lakes and the Baltic**The study was partially financed by MNiSW (Ministry of Science and Higher Education) as a research project N N306 066434 in the years 2008–2011. The partial support for this study was also provided by the SatBałtyk project (Satellite Monitoring of the Baltic Sea Environment) funded by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund contract No. POIG 01.01.02-22-011/09.The paper was presented at the 6th International Conference ‘Current Problems in the Optics of Natural Waters’, St. Petersburg, Russia, 6–10 September 2011

The remote sensing reflectance R rs , concentrations of chlorophyll a and other pigments C i , suspended particulate matter concentrations C SPM and coloured dissolved organic matter absorption coefficient a CDOM (λ) were measured in the euphotic zones of 15 Pomeranian lakes in 2007–2010. On the basis of 235 sets of data points obtained from simultaneous estimates of these quantities, we classified the lake waters into three types. The first one, with the lowest a CDOM (440 nm) (usually between 0.1 and 1.3 m −1 and chlorophyll a concentrations 1.3 C a −3 ), displays a broad peak on the reflectance spectrum at 560–580 nm and resembles the shape of the remote sensing reflectance spectra usually observed in the Baltic Proper. A set of R rs spectra from the Baltic Proper is given for comparison. The second lake water type has a very high CDOM absorption coefficient (usually a CDOM (440 nm) > 10 m −1 , up to 17.4 m −1 in Lake Pyszne; it has a relatively low reflectance ( R rs −1 ) over the entire spectral range, and two visible reflectance spectra peaks at ca 650 and 690–710 nm. The third type of lake water represents waters with a lower CDOM absorption coefficient (usually a CDOM (440 nm) −1 ) and a high chlorophyll a concentration (usually C a > 4 mg m −3 , up to 336 mg m −3 in Lake Gardno). The remote sensing reflectance spectra in these waters always exhibit three peaks ( R rs > 0.005 sr −1 ): a broad one at 560–580 nm, a smaller one at ca 650 nm and a well-pronounced one at 690–720 nm. These R rs (λ) peaks correspond to the relatively low absorption of light by the various optically active components of the lake water and the considerable scattering (over the entire spectral range investigated) due to the high SPM concentrations there. The remote sensing maximum at λ ≈ 690–720 nm is higher still as a result of the natural fluorescence of chlorophyll a . Empirical relationships between the spectral reflectance band ratios at selected wavelengths and the various optically active components for these lake waters are also established: for example, the chlorophyll a concentration in surface water layer C a = 6.432 e 4.556 X , where X = [max R rs (695 ≤ λ ≤ 720) – R rs (λ = 670)]/max R rs (695 ≤ λ ≤ 720), and the coefficient of determination R 2 = 0.95.