Detection of total suspended sediments in the North Sea using AVHRR and ship data

This study reports on a combined investigation between in situ measurements of total suspended sediments, collected by ship, and remotely sensed data provided by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) during the winter-summer period of 1989. It is meant to be a case study stating the p roblems inherent to coastal waters and proposing a methodology to understan d them. Ship and satellite data are compared in order to detect suspended s ediments in case 2 waters in the North Sea through a linear regression anal ysis. The results show a wide range of coefficient of determination (R-2) v alues. The highest values correspond to summer dates, while the lowest belo nged to the winter and spring period. It was found that for the summer date s the relatively still atmospheric and water conditions were suitable for c omparison with satellite data providing good values of R2. In winter and sp ring, unsettled sea water conditions complicated the comparison of the data . It can be concluded that the seasonal stratification of the water column during summer time allows a better correlation between in situ and remotely sensed data than the typically well-mixed waters during winter.