Aerosol Optical Thickness From the SeaWiFS and MODIS Sensors Over the Chesapeake Bay

Presently, a suite of 12 aerosol models are used for atmospheric correction purposes to retrieve water-leaving radiances in the visible and near IR spectral bands of the SeaWiFS and MODIS sensors. These models are based on Shettle and Fenn's (1979) aerosol models of tropospheric and oceanic aerosols. As a part of the atmospheric correction effort, the Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG) also reports the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) for the scene. We have compared the AOT from the SeaWiFS and MODIS with the AERONET retrievals over the Chesapeake Bay, and found that the satellite-retrieved AOT in the 865/869 bands of SeaWiFS/MODIS sensors are generally higher than the AERONET retrievals. We attribute the overestimation of AOT mostly due to the backscattering of downwelling solar irradiance by phytoplankton, CDOM and non-algal suspended particles in the Bay. Results from simulation studies, and from the comparison of satellite-derived AOT and the AERONET in the visible and near IR bands will be presented.