Modeling the optical properties of phytoplankton and their influence on chlorophyll estimation from remote sensing algorithms

The absorption coefficient and backscattering properties of phytoplankton were calculated from the Mie theory. Given a simple case that phytoplankton and mineral particles are the only constitutions in seawater, the reflectance $b_b({\lambda})/[a({\lambda})+b_b({\lambda})]$was analyzed. Then the chlorophyll concentrations were estimated from remote sensing OC2 algorithm. The results show that reflectance in short wavelength region is more sensitive to the Chl variation; High mineral concentrations in seawater have significant influence on the reflectance spectrum; the existence of high mineral concentration may result in the mistake in chlorophyll estimation from OC2 algorithm.