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 problems inherent to coastal waters and proposing a methodology to understand them. Ship and satellite data are compared in order to detect suspended sediments in case 2 waters in the North Sea through a linear regression analysis. The results show a wide range of coefficient of determination (R²) values. The highest values correspond to summer dates, while the lowest belonged to the winter and spring period. It was found that for the summer dates the relatively still atmospheric and water conditions were suitable for comparison with satellite data providing good values of R². In winter and spring, 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.