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Remote Sensing Opportunities for APNEP Monitoring
Citation:
Keith, D. Remote Sensing Opportunities for APNEP Monitoring. APNEP Estuarine Monitoring Strategy Meeting, NA, RI, September 14, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to present information to the Division of Water Resources at the NC Department of Environmental Natural Resources (NCDENR) and the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership on the potential of using satellite information to identify time periods and locations along the Neuse River and Pamlico River estuaries where the North Carolina (NC) Water Quality standard for chlorophyll a (chl a) is exceeded.
Description:
The purpose of this report is to present information to the Division of Water Resources at the NC Department of Environmental Natural Resources (NCDENR) and the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership on the potential of using satellite information to identify time periods and locations along the Neuse River and Pamlico River estuaries where the North Carolina (NC) Water Quality standard for chlorophyll a (chl a) is exceeded. The standard is violated for concentrations greater than 40 μg/L and serves as the foundation of the nitrogen TMDL for the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico estuaries. Using satellite imagery (~300 m pixel resolution) provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instrument, the magnitude and extent of chl a concentrations were estimated at multiple temporal and spatial scales in these estuaries. Quantitative estimates (i.e., #of pixels > 40 μg/L as well as % of total pixels > 40 μg/L) and statistical analyses (mean, median, and 90th percentile values) of daily and annual, regional scale chlorophyll data are presented from 2006-2009 to determine periods of the violation of the nitrogen TMDL and NC water quality standard exceedances.