Retrieval chlorophyll-a concentration from coastal waters: three-band semi-analytical algorithms comparison and development.

The objectives of this study are to validate the applicability of a three-band algorithm in determining chlorophyll-a in eutrophic coastal waters, and to improve the model using improved three-band algorithm. Evaluated using two independent data sets collected from the West Florida Shelf, the variation three-band model was found to have a superior performance to both the three-band and modified three-band model. Using the variation three-band algorithm decreased 18% and 56% uncertainty, respectively, from the three-band and modified three-band algorithms. The significantly reduced uncertainty in chlorophyll-a estimations is attributed to effective removal of absorption of gelbstoff and suspended solids and backscattering of water molecules.