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Suspended sediment concentration (SSC) is one of the most critical parameters in ocean ecological environment evaluation and it can be determined using ocean color remote sensing (RS). The purpose of this study is to develop a model that provides a reliable and sensitive evaluation of SSC retrieval using RS data. Data were acquired for and gathered from the Gulf of Bohai where SSC levels are relatively low with an average value below 30 mg·L −1. The study indicates that the most sensitive band to SSC levels in the study area is the NIR band of Landsat5 TM images. A quadratic polynomial semi-analytical model appears to be the best retrieval model based on the relationship between the inherent optical properties (IOPs) and apparent optical properties (AOPs) of water as described by the quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA). The model has a higher precision and effectiveness for SSC retrieval than data-driven statistical models, especially when SSC level is relatively high. The average relative error and the root mean square error (RMSE) are 12.32% and , respectively, while the correlation coefficient between observed and estimated SSC by the model is 0.95. Using the proposed retrieval model and TM data, SSC levels of the entire study region in the Gulf of Bohai were estimated. These estimates can serve as the baseline for efficient monitoring of the ocean environment in the future.

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