The Optical Model Spectral Validation and Water Clarity Reporting Tool Refinement: Draft Final Report.

Abstract

A spectrally explicit empirical optical model was developed and calibrated for all 14 Charlotte Harbor seagrass management segments to estimate the light attenuation coefficient, KdPAR, at the target depths previously identified by the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. The model was calibrated using specialized data collected in 1997 1998, as well as an optimized subset of data collected from the CHNEP routine water quality monitoring network throughout CHNEP estuarine waters with measured values of color, chlorophyll, turbidity, and field KdPAR values. The model simulates spectrally explicit partial attenuation coefficients due to each of these water quality constituents for wavelengths between 400 and 700nm. The model accounts for sun angle, absorption, and scattering components of light attenuation through the water column to estimate both overall water clarity and the light vailable at seagrass target depths.