An integrated data-model system to support monitoring and assessment of marine systems

A method is described for the calibration of a water quality model using Remote Sensing imagery from the NOAA/AVHRR satellite. The study focused on the Total Suspended Matter (TSM) concentration in the southern North Sea for the year 1990. In a first step, a traditionally calibrated water quality model for TSM, has been used to scale Remote Sensing reflectance data to TSM data. Hereafter, a (second) calibration of the model has been done on the TSM data derived from the Remote Sensing reflectance images. This calibration is based on the quantitative measurement of the similarity between the model results for TSM and Remote Sensing reflectance images from the NOAA/AVHRR satellite. Using such a quantitative comparison, it is possible to incorporate the patterns from the Remote Sensing images in a reproducible and objective manner to improve the model results. This study is the beginning of a methodology to integrate the results from Remote Sensing, field survey, and water quality models for improved knowledge on the water quality of water systems.