Meris Imagery of Belgian Coastal Waters: Mapping of Suspended Particulate Matter and Chlorophyll-a

This paper describes a first application-oriented analysis of MERIS products for Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Chlorophyll-a (CHL) concentration in Belgian coastal waters. Regional algorithms designed for Belgian waters have been implemented and compared with the standard MERIS products, termed Total Suspended Matter and Algal2 respectively. The standard and regional SPM products seem robust and give similar data. Notwithstanding a more complete match-up validation analysis, these products seem sufficiently mature for use in applications such as sediment transport model validation. Results for CHL products are less convincing and further analysis is required before this data can be reliably used. In particular the MERIS Product Confidence flags have not yet been validated. The red and near infrared bands are particularly important in turbid coastal waters and should be considered a priority for further validation. MERIS full resolution mode is attractive for SPM mapping when compared with other sensors. For CHL mapping in coastal waters the superior spectral resolution and algorithm design give MERIS a distinct advantage over other ocean colour sensors. The disadvantages of MERIS, particularly for SPM mapping, are the reduced frequency (related to swath and sunglint) and availability of data.