The Coastal Zone Color Scanner 

 Atmospheric Correction Algorithm 



Warren A. Hovis, Chairman 



CZCS Nimbus Experiment Team 



Structure that can be clearly seen in the water in the Level II data 

 product from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) is quite frequently 

 not obvious in the Level I data product where only an approximate 

 Rayleigh correction for the atmosphere is carried out to increase contrast. 

 A scene from 10 June 1979, off the East Coast, is shown in both the Level I 

 and Level II products (pages xiv and xv), illustrating the power of the 

 atmospheric correction algorithm. The difficulty in estimating what the 

 final product will look like before applying the complete atmospheric 

 correction technique is obvious. 



xni 



