Coastal waters are the richest parts of ocean ecosystems characterised by dynamic changes in water biology, physical and chemical features. Establishing local relationships between water constituents and optical properties in these areas will help to develop successful ocean colour algorithms allowing a thorough understanding of complex coastal waters and improving water quality monitoring. In this paper, the authors present the use of optical and biogeochemical measurements in complex aquatic environments and aim to create a semi-empirical model of remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs(λi)) for four wavelengths (λi = 420 nm, 488 nm, 555 nm, and 620 nm) based on multiparameter algorithms of absorption (a(λi)) and backscattering (bb(λi)) coefficients. The bio-optical properties of water were determined based on empirical data gathered from aboard the r/v Oceania from April 2007 to March 2010 in chosen areas of the southern Baltic (Polish coast). The analyses reveal that Rrs(λi) in the studied area can be described with satisfactory accuracy using a five-parameter model. Positive results with a statistical error magnitude of Rrs(λi) of less than 50% were achieved for all four applied wavelengths. Bio-optical algorithms proposed by the authors enable evaluating biogeochemical characteristics of coastal areas in a broader context of ecosystem assessment and contribute significantly to the development of Earth and environmental sciences.
Keywords: bio-optical algorithms; biomonitoring; coastal waters; inherent optical properties; remote-sensing reflectance; suspended and dissolved matter.