Effects of spectral bandpass on SeaWiFS-retrieved near-surface optical properties of the ocean

A simple correction method to remove the spectral bandpass effects of the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) on the derived normalized water-leaving radiances and ocean-near-surface chlorophyll concentration is developed and implemented in the SeaWiFS data-processing system. SeaWiFS has not only in-band response structures but also significant sensor out-of-band contributions. The effects of the SeaWiFS out-of-band contribution at the green bands is particularly significant for the derived normalized water-leaving radiances and therefore for the retrieved ocean-near-surface chlorophyll concentration. With the sensor spectral bandpass corrections, the low chlorophyll concentration is even lower in the clear ocean regions, whereas there are almost no changes for the oceans with a chlorophyll concentration of >0.2 mg/m(3). (C) 2001 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 010.4450, 010.1310, 280.0280.