A complex systems approach to the spatial and temporal simulation of Florida Bay algal communities

Abstract

Since the late 1980s, Florida Bay has been plagued by persistent algal blooms that have been economically and environmentally debilitating. A time-series of remotely sensed data collected by French SPOT satellites provide high-spatial-resolution data, with the spectral resolution sufficient to identify algal chlorophyll. This study used the satellite-image time-series data for algal-bloom classification and mensuration. A dynamic spatial simulation model was developed using the Interactive Data Language (IDL) and used to predict the spatial and temporal characteristics of the bloom. Theoretical applications of complex systems to natural analogues are discussed. Copyright © 2004 by V. H. Winston & Son, Inc. All rights reserved.