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ISS Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO): Application of Space-based Hyperspectral Imagery for the Protection of the Nation’s Coastal Resources
Citation:
Keith, D. ISS Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO): Application of Space-based Hyperspectral Imagery for the Protection of the Nation’s Coastal Resources. Presented at International Space Station (ISS) Research and Development Conference (2nd Annual): Discoveries, Applications and Opportunities nal Space Station (ISS) Research and Development Conference: Discoveries, Applications and Opportunities, Denver, CO, July 16 - 18, 2013.
Impact/Purpose:
This study proves that the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) on the International Space Station (ISS) can successfully provide water quality data for environmental monitoring and assessments of biological condition in coastal and estuarine systems. Using a semi-empirical approach, we derived several algorithms for retrieving chlorophyll a pigment concentrations, turbidity, salinity, and colored dissolved organic matter absorption from spectral data for four estuaries along the Florida Panhandle. The results of these algorithms proved to be robust when compared with in situ water data collected concurrently with an ISS overpass. This study represents another example of how high resolution, space-based remotely sensed data can provide the basis of the creation of sustainable monitoring strategies for estuaries and the near coastal ocean.
Description:
The International Space Station (ISS) is a "global observation and diagnosis station” that offers a unique vantage for observing the Earth's coastal ecosystems. From its position in low-Earth orbit, the station’s optical sensors provide images which help us understand and quantify natural processes in the coastal zone and provide information for creating sustainable solutions for managing environmental issues that plague our home planet. The most direct method to ensure that management practices are achieving sustainability objectives is through environmental monitoring. The ISS Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) system offers the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) an unprecedented opportunity to observe changes in near coastal and estuarine water quality across a range of spatial and temporal scales not feasible with field-based monitoring. HICO, housed within the Japanese Experiment Module - Exposed Facility, is the first hyperspectral imager specifically made for the environmental characterization of the coastal ocean from space. During a typical 90-minute orbit, HICO images one scene spanning approximately 40 kilometers wide and 190 kilometers long. Each pixel in the scene is a 95-meter square from which 88 channels of spectral data are collected in the visible electromagnetic spectrum (400 to 900 nanometers). Using the high spatial and spectral resolutions characteristic of HICO, we mapped water clarity and chlorophyll a distributions from four Florida Gulf Coast estuaries. Remote sensing technologies, such as HICO, have the potential to provide allow national coverage of water quality conditions in estuaries and coastal waters. A prototype smart phone application was developed during our program for dissemination of these and other retrieved water quality data to managers in the EPA Office of Water. Broadly accessible water quality news reports and mobile applications may change the dynamics for the Nation to not only be aware of its water quality conditions at regional scales but on more personal levels support sustainable practices to maintain or improve conditions at their favorite recreational areas.