Assessment of apparent optical properties (AOP) of total suspended sediments (TSS) in Kuala Terengganu coastal waters

Abstract

The field of remote sensing can be used to determine the distribution of different types of constituents in seawater such as chlorophyll-a, Coloured Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) and Total Suspended Sediments (TSS). In this research, the measurements of Apparent Optical Properties (AOP) parameters such as Rrs and Kd have been conducted and their relationship with TSS were investigated. 22 stations along Kuala Terengganu coastal waters were chosen as the sites of study. The in-situ observations were carried out between 14th and 17th of September 2006. The in-situ data of radiometric measurements (EJ...01 and Lu(Ol) were processed using the Prosoft 7.78 software to derive AOP parameters (Rrs and Kd. For each station, water samples were collected to measure the concentration of TSS. The regression analyses were done between the concentration of TSS and AOP parameters in order to determine the relationship between them. The regression analysis revealed that the TSS can be best estimated at 675 nm wavelength of Rrs and 532 nm wavelength of Kd. Results obtained suggest that in-situ measurement of AOP parameters are potentially valuable to develop site-specific algorithms for estimating TSS concentration through remotely sensed optical data.