EN
The accuracyan alysis of an approximate atmospheric correction algorithm for the processing of SeaWiFS data has been investigated for the Baltic Sea. The analysis made use of theoretical radiances produced with the FEM radiative transfer code for representative atmosphere-water test cases. The studysho wed uncertainties in the determination of the aerosol optical thickness at 865 nm and of the ˚Angstr¨om exponent lower than ±5% and ±10%, respectively. These results were confirmed bythe analysis of 59 match-ups between satellite-derived and in situ measurements for a site located in the central Baltic. Because of the relativelyhig h yellow substance absorption, often combined with the slanted solar illumination, the retrieval of the water-leaving radiance in the blue part of the spectrum appeared to be highlyd egraded, to the extent that almost no correlation was found between retrieved and simulated values. Better results were obtained at the other wavelengths. The accuracyin the estimation of the remote sensing reflectance ratio R35 decreased with diminishing chlorophyll a concentration and increasing yellow substance absorption, ranging between ±7% and ±47%. The propagation of R35 uncertainties on chlorophyll a estimation was quantified. Keeping the same atmosphere-water conditions, the atmospheric correction scheme appeared sensitive to seasonal changes in the Sun zenith.