Toward universal multispectral suspended sediment algorithms

Abstract A data acquisition and analysis program has been undertaken to demonstrate the feasibility of remote multispectral techniques for monitoring suspended sediment concentrations in natural water bodies. Two hundred surface radiance measurements (400–1000 nm) were made at Lake Mead with coincident water sampling for laboratory analysis. Water volume spectral reflectance is calculated from the recorded surface radiance and volume reflectance-suspended sediment relationships investigated. Statistical analysis indicates that quantitative estimates of nonfilterable residue and nephelometric turbidity can be obtained from volume spectral reflectance data with sufficient accuracy (based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards) to make the multispectral technique feasible for sediment monitoring. Algorithms exhibit sufficient universality to indicate they can be implemented in many cases with little or no ground truth for calibration.