The backscattering coefficient and its components in the Great Lakes: A review and synthesis

► A synthesis on the subject of particulate backscattering in Great Lakes is presented. ► A holistic approach combining field measurements and optical modeling was employed. ► Reasonably good closure was achieved between modeling results and bulk measurements. ► Findings help to advance mechanistic remote-sensing algorithms for the Great Lakes. ► Such remote-sensing algorithms should target retrieval of particle projected area.