Satellite assessment of hurricane-induced ocean turbidity for the southern U.S. coastline

Advanced very high resolution radiometer images before and after three hurricanes were processed to estimate the reflectance difference between visible and near-infrared bands. The reflectance difference provides a measure of the turbidity in the water column. The images were compared to examine the influence of hurricanes on coastal waters Hurricanes were found to increase turbidity in a large area, with the greatest impact to the right side of the hurricane track. ??2005 Copyright SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering.