Determination of chlorophyll a of inland waters on the basis of spectral reflectance

Abstract

In order to develop algorithms for the remote sensing of Chl a concentrations in mesotrophic and eutrophic waters, we measured the spectral (R) of algal cultures and natural waters. A high squared correlation coefficient (r² = 0.98; n = 94) was found between Chl a and the reflectance ratio x = R(705 nm)/R(670 nm) of some natural waters for the concentration range between 5 and 350 µg liter^‒1, yielding the following regression relationship: Chl a (µg liter^‒1) = 89x + 10x² ‒ 34.