Atmospheric correction and suspended sediment concentration retrieval based on multi-spectral remote sensing images:A case study of Caofeidian offshore area

The atmospheric correction of remote sensing image is one of the difficulties in quantitative remote sensing research .In this paper , aimed at the suspended sediment concentration ( SSC ) levels retrieval in the Caofeidian offshore area , the authors performed a comparative test on atmospheric correction of MODIS image of the study area by 6 S and FLAASH models , and then evaluated the corrected image quality and the correction effects of target information ( normalized water index , NDWI ) .The results show that these two models could reduce the atmospheric effect on remote sensing information of water body to some extent .By comparison , the corrected image quality by 6S is better than that by FLAASH and could more truly reflect the target information; therefore, 6S model can better perform atmospheric correction of remote sensing images with a high precision in coastal waters . Subsequently , the MODIS image after atmospheric correction by 6S was applied to invert the SSC in the study area , and the inversion results show that the average relative error ( MRE) and the root-mean-square error ( RMSE) are 24.79 %and 4.32 mg/L, respectively.The results can provide a basis for the selection of atmospheric correction methods in caseⅡwaters, thereby laying a foundation for the study of sediment transport law as well as evaluation of water quality and water environment .