A Novel Framework of Integrating UV and NIR Atmospheric Correction Algorithms for Coastal Ocean Color Remote Sensing

Atmospheric correction is a fundamental process of ocean color remote sensing to remove the atmospheric effect from the top-of-atmosphere. Generally, Near Infrared (NIR) based algorithms perform well for clear waters, while Ultraviolet (UV) based algorithms can obtain good results for turbid waters. However, the latter tends to produce noisy patterns for clear waters. An ideal and practical solution to deal with such a dilemma is to apply NIR- and UV-based algorithms for clear and turbid waters, respectively. We propose a novel atmospheric correction method that integrates the advantages of UV- and NIR-based atmospheric correction (AC) algorithms for coastal ocean color remote sensing. The new approach is called UV-NIR combined AC algorithm. The performance of the new algorithm is evaluated based on match-ups between GOCI images and the AERONET-OC dataset. The results show that the values of retrieved Rrs (Remote Sensing Reflectance) at visible bands agreed well with the in-situ observations. Compared with the SeaDAS (SeaWiFS Data Analysis System) standard NIR algorithm, the new AC algorithm can achieve better precision and provide more available data.