%0 Journal Article %J GeoCarto International %D 2009 %T A comparision between above-water surface and subsurface spectral reflectances collected over inland waters. %A Bhatti, A.M. %A Rundquist, D.C. %A Schalles, John F. %A Ramirez, L. %A Nasu, S. %K altamaha river %K GCE %K monobe river %K spectroscopy %K st. marys river %K water optics %X The objective of the research was to undertake a quantitative comparison of spectral reflectance measurements made slightly above the surface of water bodies with themeasurements made slightly below the surface. The study is focused on three rivers; two in Georgia, USA and one in Japan. As expected, the differences in reflectance are not constant and vary with the wavelength. The contribution of surface-reflection effects to the surface reflectance measured slightly above the water is both pronounced and highlyvariable, but while they do alter the magnitude of the upwelling signal, they do notchange the general shape of the spectral profiles. The correction of surface-reflectioneffects by assuming a proportionality factor (ρ) is not considered to be efficient forinland fresh water bodies. For in-situ spectroscopy, the recommended approach is tomeasure upwelling radiance slightly below the water %B GeoCarto International %V 24 %P 133-141 %G eng %N 2 %M LTER.2009-93295 %R 10.1080/10106040802460707