Determination of aerosol optical properties for retrieval of water-leaving radiance at Roodeplaat dam relating to calibration and validation of Sentinel 2 And 3

Abstract

Remote sensing of inland water quality is challenging satellite Earth observation application. Inland water bodies are small, optically complex and dark targets compared to surrounding land. Signal reaching satellites is dominated by light scattered in the atmosphere. Aerosols are the strongest variables in the atmosphere by playing a major role in generating unwanted signal. Field campaign took place at Roodeplaat dam (Pretoria) relating to calibration and validation of Sentinel 2 and Sentinel 3 satellites. Results were simultaneously taken with the satellite overpass in quantitative method. The Radiative Transfer Modelling for the atmosphere is required. Aerosol models have been evaluated to improve retrieval accuracy of water-leaving radiance. A retrieval algorithm for and remote-sensing reflectance Rrs is developed to analyse the sensitivity of the retrieval to aerosol optical properties. Sensitivities and proposals for enhanced retrieval methods are presented. Measurements of aerosol optical thickness, water vapour and other optical properties are presented.