The effect of properties of sediment type on the relationship between suspended sediment concentration and radiance

Abstract

A laboratory experiment was designed to determine the spectral characteristics of different types of sediment suspended in water in the visible and near infrared wavelengths (0.45–0.9 μm) using a four-channel radiometer. Field collected sediments were resuspended in water to produce different concentration levels for the measurement of radiance. Spectral measurements of turbid water showed a distinctive difference in the behaviour of radiance with change in the inorganic suspended sediment concentration and type. It was noted that the correlation between the suspended sediment concentration and the radiance varied with the mineral composition of the sediment. The clay minerals of low specific gravity had larger values of radiance than those from high specific gravity nonclay minerals. Based on the results obtained, it appears that an algorithm to estimate suspended sediment concentration can be developed from radiance. © 1994 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.