Data Recovery of the Sea of Azov Salinity Fields Using Regression Analysis Between In Situ Data and Regional Satellite Products

This study proposes a method for obtaining information on the salinity of the Sea of Azov, based on the use of contact and remote sensing data. The approach to the salinity fields recovery is based on obtaining generalized regression equations relating in situ archival data with regional biooptical products obtained from standard level-2 MODIS products. This analysis showed the possibility of using various approaches to obtain generalized empirical (regression) equations for the spring and summer seasons, the differences in which are ~10 %. The results of the recovered salinity values were verified using in situ data. It was found that the plots of the average values of the recovered salinity are in the region of 95 % of the confidence bands of the modern long-term average trends for 1986–2018 and 2000–2018. The possibility of using the results of the proposed method in the construction of spatial maps of the Azov Sea salinity, synchronized in time with satellite scenes, is shown.