A recent comment from Gordon and Evans took issue with two aspects of the analysis of Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) pigment extraction algorithms. This reply refuted the arguments of Gordon and Evans. The multiple Rayleigh scattering algorithm does not always make physical sense, nor has the physical validity of Ångström's coefficient been established as a means of parameterizing the aerosol scale factor. We also disagreed with the position put forward by Gordon and Evans that the artifacts in the CZCS data will disappear in the next generation sensor (SeaWiFS) because the problem of quantifying the aerosol contribution from these satellite measurements has not yet been solved to sufficient accuracy. Finally, these factors, coupled with electronic overshoot and the decay of the CZCS sensor's sensitivity over time, make it unlikely that the quality of derived pigment values will be significantly improved by reprocessing the CZCS archive yet one more time as suggested by Gordon and Evans.