Highly turbid ocean waters are those with a large number of scattering particulates in them. In both highly absorbing and highly scattering waters, visibility into the water is reduced. The highly scattering (turbid) water still reflects a lot of light while the highly absorbing water, such as a black water lake, is very dark. The scattering particles that cause the water to be turbid can be composed of many things, including sediments and phytoplankton.
From a satellite, a proxy measurement of the water turbidity can be made by examining the amount of reflectance in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. For the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), the logical choice is band 1, covering wavelengths 580 to 680 nanometers, the orange and red. In order to make derived products that are comparable over time and space, an atmospheric correction is required. To do this, the effects of Rayleigh scattering are calculated based on the satellite viewing angle and the solar zenith angle and then subtracted from the band 1 radiance. For an aerosol correction, band 2 in the near infrared is used. It is first corrected for Rayleigh scattering and then subtracted from the Rayleigh corrected band 1. The Rayleigh corrected band 2 is assumed to be aerosol radiance because no return signal from water in the near infra-red is expected since water is highly absorbing at those wavelengths. Because bands 1 and 2 are relatively close on the electromagnetic spectrum, we can reasonably assume their aerosol radiances are the same.
In these images the turbidity is quantified as the percent
reflected light emerging from the water column in a range of 0
to 8 percent. The reflectance percentage can be correlated to
attenuation, Secchi disk depth or total suspended solids although
the exact relationship will vary regionally and depends on the optical
properties of the water.
For example in Florida Bay, 10% reflectance corresponds to a sediment
concentration of 30 milligram/liter and a Secchi depth of 0.5 meter. These
relationships are approximately linear so that 5% reflectance
would correspond to a sediment concentration of approximately
15 milligram/liter and a Secchi depth of 1 meter. In the
Mississippi River plume regions these same reflectance values would
represent sediment concentrations that are about ten times or more higher.
As one would expect, the majority of these images reveal large increases in turbidity in the regions where a hurricane has made landfall. The increases are primarily due to sediments that have been resuspended from the shallow bottom regions. In areas near shore some of the signal may also be due to sediments eroded from beaches as well as from sediment laden river plumes. In some cases a post-hurricane phytoplankton bloom due to increased nutrient availability may perhaps be detectable.
The examination of the turbidity after the passing of a hurricane can have potentially many uses for coastal resource management including:
With regard to these uses, determining the regions of high
turbidity will allow managers to best decide on response strategies
as well as help ensure that post-hurricane resources are most
effectively utilized.
Only a small fraction of the light incident on the ocean will be reflected and received by the satellite. The probability for a photon to reflect and exit the ocean decreases exponentially with length of its path through the water because the ocean is an absorbing media. The more ocean a photon must travel through, the greater its chances of being absorbed by something. After absorption, it will eventually become part of the ocean's heat reservoir. The absorption and scattering characteristics of a water body determine the rate of vertical light attenuation and set a limit to the depths contributing to a satellite signal. A reasonable rule of thumb is that 90 percent of the signal coming from the water that is seen by the satellite is from the first attenuation length. How deep this is depends on the absorption and scattering properties of both the water itself and other constituents in the water. For wavelengths in the near infrared and longer, the penetration depth varies from a meter to a few micrometers. For band 1, the penetration depth will usually be between 1 and 10 meters. If the water has a large turbidity spike below 10 meters, the spike is unlikely to be seen by a satellite.
For very shallow clear water there is a good chance the bottom may be seen. For example, in the Bahamas, the water is quite clear and only a few meters deep, resulting in an apparent high turbidity because the bottom reflects a lot of the band 1 light. For areas with consistently high turbidity signals, particularly areas with relatively clear water, part of the signal may be due to bottom reflection. Normally this will not be a problem with a post-hurricane turbidity image since the storm easily resuspends enough sediment such that bottom reflection is negligible.
Clouds are also problematic for the interpretation of satellite
derived turbidity. Cloud removal algorithms perform a satisfactory
job for pixels that are fully cloudy. Partially cloudy pixels
are much harder to identify and typically result in false high
turbidity estimates. High turbidity values near clouds are suspect.