Estimation of inherent optical properties using in situ hyperspectral radiometer and MODIS data along the east coast of New Caledonia

Hyperspectral remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) was measured by a TriOS radiometer system along the East Coast of New Caledonia during the R/V Alis 03-13 October 2011 CALIOPE cruise. The TriOS system consists of radiance and irradiance sensors measuring in the spectral range 320-950 nm, at a spectral resolution of about 10 nm (sampled by every 3.3 nm), and within a 7-degree field-of-view for the radiance sensor. The method developed by Froidefond and Ouillon (2005) was used to determine Rrs, i.e., the radiance sensor was mounted on a small raft to measure upwelling radiance just below the surface, and Rrs was calculated by normalizing water-leaving radiance with downward solar irradiance measured on the ship deck. Inherent Optical Properties (IOPs), i.e., absorption coefficients of phytoplankton and detritus+dissolved substances (aph and adg, respectively), and particulate backscattering coefficient (bbp) were estimated from the hyperspectral Rrs data by applying linear matrix inversion (Hoge and Lyon, 1996). The IOP inversion algorithm was adapted to MODIS data and applied to Level 1b imagery at 500 m resolution to demonstrate the feasibility of regular IOP monitoring from space in the study area. Local characteristics of the IOP spectra were used for the candidate spectra in the algorithm. The estimated MODIS Rrs and IOPs were evaluated using TriOS Rrs and in-situ IOP measurements obtained concomitantly during the cruise.