PIAHS Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences PIAHS Proc. IAHS 2199-899X Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/piahs-368-15-2015 Simultaneous atmospheric correction and quantification of suspended particulate matter in the Guadalquivir estuary from Landsat images Carpintero M. 1 Polo M. J. 1 Suhyp Salama Mhd. 2 Fluvial Dynamics and Hydrology Research Group, Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research, IISTA, University of Cordoba, Spain University of Twente, ITC, Hengelosestraat 99, 7500 AA Enschede, The Netherlands 06 05 2015 368 15 20 Copyright: © 2015 M. Carpintero et al. 2015 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is available from https://piahs.copernicus.org/articles/368/15/2015/piahs-368-15-2015.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://piahs.copernicus.org/articles/368/15/2015/piahs-368-15-2015.pdf

Earth observations (EOs) following empirical and/or analytical approaches are a feasible alternative to obtain spatial and temporal distribution of water quality variables. The limitations observed in the use of empirical approaches to estimate high concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the estuarine water of Guadalquivir have led the authors to use a semi-analytical model, which relates the water constituents’ concentration to the water leaving reflectance. In this work, the atmospheric correction has been carried out simultaneously and the aerosol reflectance and backscattering coefficients of SPM obtained. The results are validated using in situ SPM data series provided by a monitoring network in the study area. The results show that the model allows us to successfully estimate backscattering coefficients of SPM in the estuary, differentiating clear and turbid water and using two ε<sub>(4,5)</sub> .These considerations improve the value of R<sup>2</sup> from 0.68 (single ε<sub>(4,5)</sub>) to 0.86 (two ε<sub>( 4,5)</sub>) on 18 May 2009. This method could be used as a preliminary approach to obtain SPM concentration in the Guadalquivir estuary with the limitations that the model shows for turbid waters.