Water Quality Monitoring Using Landsat 8 OLI in Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts, USA

Water quality monitoring is essential to assess and manage anthropogenic eutrophication, especially for coastal estuaries in heavily populated areas. Current monitoring techniques rely on in situ sampling, which can be expensive and limited in spatial and temporal coverage. Satellite remote sensing,...

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Main Authors: Haley E. Synan, Brian L. Howes, Sara Sampieri, Steven E. Lohrenz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/4/638
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author Haley E. Synan
Brian L. Howes
Sara Sampieri
Steven E. Lohrenz
author_facet Haley E. Synan
Brian L. Howes
Sara Sampieri
Steven E. Lohrenz
author_sort Haley E. Synan
collection DOAJ
description Water quality monitoring is essential to assess and manage anthropogenic eutrophication, especially for coastal estuaries in heavily populated areas. Current monitoring techniques rely on in situ sampling, which can be expensive and limited in spatial and temporal coverage. Satellite remote sensing, using the Landsat 8 (Operational Land Imager, OLI) platform, has the potential to provide more extensive coverage than traditional methods. Coastal waters are optically more complex and often shallower and more enclosed than the open ocean, presenting conditions that pose challenges to remote sensing approaches. Here, we compared in situ data from 18 stations around Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts, USA from the years 2014–2021 to contemporaneous observations with Landsat 8 OLI. Satellite-derived estimates of chlorophyll-a and Secchi depth were acquired using various algorithms including the “Case-2 Regional/Coast Color” (C2RCC), “Case-2 Extreme” (C2X), l2gen processor, and a random forest machine learning algorithm. Based on our results, predictions of water quality indices from both C2RCC and random forest techniques can be a useful addition to existing water quality monitoring efforts, potentially expanding both spatial and temporal coverage of monitoring efforts.
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spelling doaj-art-625f44885126438da396c644940be1052025-08-20T02:44:36ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-02-0117463810.3390/rs17040638Water Quality Monitoring Using Landsat 8 OLI in Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts, USAHaley E. Synan0Brian L. Howes1Sara Sampieri2Steven E. Lohrenz3School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA 02744, USASchool for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA 02744, USASchool for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA 02744, USASchool for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA 02744, USAWater quality monitoring is essential to assess and manage anthropogenic eutrophication, especially for coastal estuaries in heavily populated areas. Current monitoring techniques rely on in situ sampling, which can be expensive and limited in spatial and temporal coverage. Satellite remote sensing, using the Landsat 8 (Operational Land Imager, OLI) platform, has the potential to provide more extensive coverage than traditional methods. Coastal waters are optically more complex and often shallower and more enclosed than the open ocean, presenting conditions that pose challenges to remote sensing approaches. Here, we compared in situ data from 18 stations around Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts, USA from the years 2014–2021 to contemporaneous observations with Landsat 8 OLI. Satellite-derived estimates of chlorophyll-a and Secchi depth were acquired using various algorithms including the “Case-2 Regional/Coast Color” (C2RCC), “Case-2 Extreme” (C2X), l2gen processor, and a random forest machine learning algorithm. Based on our results, predictions of water quality indices from both C2RCC and random forest techniques can be a useful addition to existing water quality monitoring efforts, potentially expanding both spatial and temporal coverage of monitoring efforts.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/4/638chlorophyllSecchi depthdissolved oxygenLandsat 8Landsat 9Cape Cod
spellingShingle Haley E. Synan
Brian L. Howes
Sara Sampieri
Steven E. Lohrenz
Water Quality Monitoring Using Landsat 8 OLI in Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts, USA
Remote Sensing
chlorophyll
Secchi depth
dissolved oxygen
Landsat 8
Landsat 9
Cape Cod
title Water Quality Monitoring Using Landsat 8 OLI in Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts, USA
title_full Water Quality Monitoring Using Landsat 8 OLI in Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts, USA
title_fullStr Water Quality Monitoring Using Landsat 8 OLI in Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts, USA
title_full_unstemmed Water Quality Monitoring Using Landsat 8 OLI in Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts, USA
title_short Water Quality Monitoring Using Landsat 8 OLI in Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts, USA
title_sort water quality monitoring using landsat 8 oli in pleasant bay massachusetts usa
topic chlorophyll
Secchi depth
dissolved oxygen
Landsat 8
Landsat 9
Cape Cod
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/4/638
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