Ocean colour remote sensing of the optically complex European Seas

Abstract

Within the framework of "ocean colour" remote sensing, the European Seas can be considered optically complex waters, as an important fraction of their surface is distributed over the coastal shelf or in enclosed basins. In such waters, the origins of particulate and dissolved materials, playing a significant optical role, are manifolds. They result in a high variability of the marine inherent optical properties, from the strongly absorbing Baltic waters to the scattering North Sea waters and the transparent Eastern Mediterranean Sea waters, furthermore complicating the inversion of the remotely sensed water-leaving signal and the derivation of marine data products. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.