Suspended Particulate Matter detection in the North Sea by hyper spectral airborne remote sensing

A spectral model is developed describing the relation between optical spectral reflectance and sampled suspended particulate matter concentration. This reflectance model is based on inherent optical properties of North Sea colouring water constituents. Hyper spectral airborne observations by a CASI scanner are carried out in the Dutch coastal zone and interpreted making use of the reflectance model. A non linear relation between reflectance and suspended particulate matter concentration is found. Variability of sampled suspended matter concentration is high, in contrast to this the variability of interpreted spectral measurements is much lower.