Retrieval of suspended sediment concentration in near-shore coastal waters using MODIS data : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Earth Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Abstract

This study focuses on using remote sensing satellite data to retrieve water suspended sediment concentration (SSC) of near-shore coastal waters. Aqua/Terra Satellite MODIS 250m data of the south-western coast of the North Island, New Zealand was used. Two methods of analysis are used in this study to obtain an SSC map; non-liner optimisation and quasi-analytical. The non-linear optimisation method was used to fit an exponential function between reflectance and SSC, with SSC replaced by a linear relationship between SSC and reflectance in the near infrared domain. The optimisation result was used to convert Aqua/Terra MODIS images to SSC maps. The quasi-analytical method, a backscattering coefficient at 645nm is first derived from Aqua/Terra MODIS 250m Band 1 data using a quasi-analytical algorithm after applying a simple atmospheric correction routine. An empirical relationship was derived from laboratory experiments. Finally SSC maps were obtained by applying the empirical relationship to convert the backscattering coefficient to SSC.