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Remote Sensing of Selected Water-Quality Indicators with the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) Sensor
Citation:
Keith, D., B. Schaeffer, R. Lunetta, R. Gould, Jr., K. Rocha, AND D. Cobb. Remote Sensing of Selected Water-Quality Indicators with the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) Sensor. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REMOTE SENSING. Taylor & Francis, Inc., Philadelphia, PA, 35(9):2927-2962, (2014).
Impact/Purpose:
Satellite imagery and spectral data from the Hyperspectral Imager for Coastal Ocean on the International Space Station will map the magnitude and spatial extent of water quality indicators such chlorophyll a concentrations, turbidity, and colored dissolved organic matter at multiple spatial scales for Pensacola Bay, Choctawhatchee Bay, St. Andrew Bay and St. Joseph Bay along the Florida Panhandle from 2009-2012. The data generated from this research will be incorporated into a prototype Smartphone app for use by the EPA Office of Water and Regional Offices.
Description:
The Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) offers the coastal environmental monitoring community an unprecedented opportunity to observe changes in coastal and estuarine water quality across a range of spatial scales not feasible with traditional field-based monitoring or existing ocean color satellites. HICO, an Office of Naval Research sponsored program, is the first space-based maritime hyperspectral imaging instrument designed specifically for the coastal ocean. HICO has been operating since September 2009 from the Japanese Experiment Module - Exposed Facility on the International Space Station (ISS). The high pixel resolution (approximately 95 m at nadir) and hyperspectral imaging capability offer a unique opportunity for characterizing a wide range of water color constituents that could be used to assess environmental condition. In this study, we transform atmospherically-corrected ISS/HICO hyperspectral imagery and derive environmental response variables routinely used for evaluating the environmental condition of coastal ecosystem resources. Using atmospherically corrected HICO imagery and a comprehensive field validation program, three regionally specific algorithms were developed to estimate basic water quality properties traditionally measured by monitoring agencies. Results indicated that a three band chlorophyll a algorithm performed best (R2 = 0.82) when compared with in situ measurement data collected 2–4 hours of HICO acquisitions. Colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) (R2 = 0.93), and turbidity (R2 = 0.67) were also highly correlated. The distribution of these water quality indicators were mapped for four estuaries along the northwest coast of Florida from April 2010 – May 2012. Limitations associated with HICO applications included instrument calibration in the blue-green portion of the spectrum, availability of integrated radiative transfer software packages to support atmospheric corrections, the non-polar, low altitude orbit of the ISS , and narrow swath width of the sensor.
