Using a coupled atmosphere –ocean discrete ordinates
radiative transfer model, Lubin et al. (2001) predicted that
detailed coral reef mapping was unlikely to be feasible from
satellite sensors chiefly because of atmospheric Rayleigh
scattering and consequent loss of radiance contrast. The
transect comparison in Fig. 7 appears to support their
prediction, with a similar loss of radiance contrast apparent
for the blue bands of the two satellite sensors (IKONOS and
Landsat TM) being compared to CASI.