An optical system for detecting and describing major algal blooms in coastal and oceanic waters around India

Abstract

An optical system is developed with the aim to detect and monitor three major algal blooms (including harmful algal blooms “HABs”) over ecologically relevant scales around India and to strengthen algal forecasting system. This system is designed to be capable of utilizing remote sensing, in situ, and radiative transfer techniques to provide species-specific data necessary for increasing capabilities of an algal forecasting system. With the ability to measure in-water optical properties by means of remote sensing and in situ observations, the optical system developed infers the desired phytoplankton signal from spectral distributions and utilize these data in a numerical classification technique to generate species-specific maps at given spatial and temporal scales. A simple radiative transfer model is adopted for this system to provide a means to optimally interpolate to regions with sparse in situ observation data and to provide a central component to generate in-water optical properties from remotely sensed data. For a given set of inherent optical properties along with surface and bottom boundary conditions, the optical system potentially provides researchers and managers coverage at different locations and depths for tracking algal blooms in the water column. Three major algal blooms focused here include Noctiluca scintillans/miliaris, Trichodesmium erythraeum, and Cochlodinium polykrikoides, which are recurring events in coastal and oceanic waters around India. Because satellite sensors provide a synoptic view of the ocean, both spatially and temporally, our initial efforts tested this optical system using several MODIS-Aqua images and ancillary data. Validation of the results with coincident in situ data obtained from either surface samples or depth samples demonstrated the robustness and potential utility of this approach, with an accuracy of 80–90% for delineating the presence of all three blooms in a heterogeneous phytoplankton community. Despite its limitation in detecting specific species during their prebloom phases and indicating whether a particular bloom is toxic or harmful, the proposed optical system will provide managers with the specific phytoplankton bloom maps to structure monitoring efforts and a powerful tool for studying the dynamics of algal blooms at various temporal and spatial scales.