Monitoring for Spatiotemporal Estuarine Chlorophyll Using MODIS and In Situ Characteristics

Abstract

An empirical model for monitoring spatiotemporal estuarine chlorophyll concentration is proposed using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) remote sensed data in conjunction with chlorophyll monitoring data and in situ characteristics in the mesohaline segment of the James River, Chesapeake Bay. The spatiotemporal estuarine chlorophyll monitoring model (STE Chl MM) was developed to express chlorophyll concentration with dependent variables of MODIS medium-resolution band (250 m) data and ambient water temperature in the spring (March to May) and fall (July to September). The model includes continuously monitored ambient water temperature as a transfer function representing dissolved oxygen and degree of ambient water kinetics describing fate and utilization of nutrients by the phytoplankton biomass. The STE Chl MM is comparable in performance to the conventional modeling approach that estimates chlorophyll concentration using in situ temperature and dissolved oxygen in terms of root mean square sum for error (RMSE) and