Atmospheric Correction Techniques for Aquatic Remote Sensing
Summary
Accurate retrieval of water quality and biogeochemical parameters from spaceborne sensors hinges on effective removal of atmospheric effects. In aquatic environments, the signal reaching the satellite comprises contributions from molecular scattering, aerosol scattering and absorption, surface glint and adjacency effects in addition to the water-leaving radiance. Atmospheric correction algorithms aim to isolate the water component by estimating and subtracting the atmospheric path reflectance and compensating for directional effects of sun-sensor geometry. Approaches range from physics-based schemes, which model aerosol and molecular contributions through radiative transfer, to semi-analytical and empirical methods that exploit the spectral characteristics of water-dark bands or use data-driven classification of optical water types. Recent advances emphasise automated processing of full-scene imagery, adaptive selection of dark targets, improved handling of sun glint and adjacency from land, and robust cross-mission harmonisation. These developments underpin routine monitoring of turbidity, chlorophyll-a, suspended sediments and harmful algal blooms in rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal zones, enhancing global assessments of freshwater and marine health.
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Atmospheric Correction Techniques for Aquatic Remote Sensing publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in atmospheric correction techniques for aquatic remote sensing across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Atmospheric path reflectance: The portion of top-of-atmosphere signal produced by scattering in the atmosphere rather than water.
Remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs): The water-leaving radiance divided by downwelling irradiance at the surface, a key metric for water quality retrievals.
Aerosol optical depth (AOD): A dimensionless measure of aerosol loading in the atmospheric column affecting signal attenuation.
Sun glint: Specular reflection of sunlight from the water surface that contaminates the water-leaving signal.
Adjacency effect: Contamination of water pixels by reflectance from nearby land or vegetation, especially in turbid or small water bodies.
References
- Estimating the concentration of total suspended solids in inland and coastal waters from Sentinel-2 MSI: A semi-analytical approach. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (2023).
- Leveraging Landsat-8/-9 underfly observations to evaluate consistency in reflectance products over aquatic environments. Remote Sensing of Environment (2023).
- Evaluation of five atmospheric correction algorithms for multispectral remote sensing data over plateau lake. Ecological Informatics (2024).
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