Rosa Astoreca

Hyperspectral and multispectral ocean color inversions to detect Phaeocystis globosa blooms in coastal waters

Identification of phytoplankton groups from space is essential to map and monitor algal blooms in coastal waters, but remains a challenge due to the presence of suspended sediments and dissolved organic matter which interfere with phytoplankton signal. On the basis of field measurements of remote sensing reflectance (Rrs(λ)), bio-optical parameters, and phytoplankton cells enumerations, we assess the feasibility of using multispectral and hyperspectral approaches for detecting spring blooms of Phaeocystis globosa (P. globosa). The two reflectance ratios (Rrs(490) /Rrs(510) and Rrs(442.5) /Rrs(490)), used in the multispectral inversion, suggest that detection of P. globosa blooms are possible from current ocean color sensors. The effects of chlorophyll concentration, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and particulate matter composition on the performance of this multispectral approach are investigated via sensitivity analysis. This analysis indicates that the development of a remote sensing algorithm, based on the values of these two ratios, should include information about CDOM concentration. The hyperspectral inversion is based on the analysis of the second derivative of Rrs(λ) (dλ2 Rrs). Two criteria, based on the position of the maxima and minima of dλ2Rrs, are established to discriminate the P. globosa blooms from diatoms blooms. We show that the position of these extremes is related to the specific absorption spectrum of P. globosa and is significantly correlated with the relative biomass of P. globosa. This result confirms the advantage of a hyperspectral over multispectral inversion for species identification and enumeration from satellite observations of ocean color. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.

Development and application of an algorithm for detecting Phaeocystis globosa blooms in the Case 2 Southern North Sea waters

While mapping algal blooms from space is now well-established, mapping undesirable algal blooms in eutrophicated coastal waters raises further challenge in detecting individual phytoplankton species. In this paper, an algorithm is developed and tested for detecting Phaeocystis globosa blooms in the Southern North Sea. For this purpose, we first measured the light absorption properties of two phytoplankton groups, P. globosa and diatoms, in laboratory-controlled experiments. The main spectral difference between both groups was observed at 467 nm due to the absorption of the pigment chlorophyll c3 only present in P. globosa, suggesting that the absorption at 467 nm can be used to detect this alga in the field. A Phaeocystis-detection algorithm is proposed to retrieve chlorophyll c3 using either total absorption or water-leaving reflectance field data. Application of this algorithm to absorption and reflectance data from Phaeocystis-dominated natural communities shows positive results. Comparison with pigment concentrations and cell counts suggests that the algorithm can flag the presence of P. globosa and provide quantitative information above a chlorophyll c3 threshold of 0.3 mg m−3 equivalent to a P. globosa cell density of 3 × 106 cells L−1. Finally, the possibility of extrapolating this information to remote sensing reflectance data in these turbid waters is evaluated.

Optical properties of algal blooms in an eutrophicated coastal area and its relevance to remote sensing

The Southern Bight of the North Sea is characterised by a large influence of river inputs, which results in eutrophication of the area. High concentrations of plankton biomass and suspended matter have been reported for this area, in relation with blooms of different species and resuspension of bottom sediments. In spring the haptophyte Phaeocystis globosa blooms throughout the area reaching up to 30 mg Chlorophyll m-3 or more nearshore. This event is followed in June by red tides of the dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans. These blooms are concurrent with different species of diatoms. The strong optical signature of these blooms is clear to human observers making them potentially detectable in satellite imagery. As a first step in this direction, sampling has been carried out in the area, during Phaeocystis and Noctiluca blooms in 2003 and 2004. Phytoplankton pigments and inherent optical properties (particle, detrital and phytoplankton absorption) have been measured spectrophotometrically, and in situ using an ac-9 for total absorption and particle scattering. Field data were compared with optical properties of pure species obtained in laboratory. In parallel, water-leaving reflectance has been also measured. In this paper we characterise the optical signatures of diatoms, Phaeocystis and Noctiluca and their contribution to total absorption. The impact on water-leaving reflectance spectra is evaluated; in order to assess the conditions in which remote sensing can provide information for monitoring the timing, extent and magnitude of blooms in this coastal area.