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Remote Sensing of Water Quality Parameters Influencing Coral Reef Health, U.S. Virgin Islands

Schlaerth, Hannah L
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1525710103251186

Abstract Details

2018, BS, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences.
Nearly a quarter of ocean species are confined to coral reefs, making reefs important environmental resources. Increases in development and changes in land use have created an influx of sediment and nutrients entering the coastal waters of the US Virgin Islands (USVI), causing detrimental effects on water quality. As a consequence, coral reefs have started to degrade. We employ remote sensing as a method of water quality monitoring, which offers a spatial advantage and cost effective alternative over traditional water quality monitoring. This study integrates NASA Landsat 8 (L8), Landsat 7 (L7), and Landsat 5 (L5) data with field spectroscopy in order to determine bio-optical properties and to quantify changes in water quality parameters that affect coral reef health in the USVI. Surface reflectance imagery was collected for clear days from January 1985 through May 2015 and from August 2016 through May 2017. The images were systematically analyzed by taking the derivative of the measured visible/near infrared spectra and then using Varimax-rotated Principal Component Analysis (VPCA) decomposition to identify color producing agents (CPAs) in the water column. VPCA loadings were standardized and results were matched to libraries of reflectance derivative spectra for known pigment and mineral standards. Research campaigns were conducted to provide in-situ Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM), turbidity, and Total Suspended Solid (TSS) measurements for comparison with the VPCA-decomposed imagery. Water samples were gravimetrically filtered and analyzed by colleagues at the College of Charleston, South Carolina. Results characterize present water quality trends and show changes in the spatial distribution of CPAs over time, which may suggest changes in coastal water quality. The detection and analysis of water quality parameters is a necessity in current and future remediation efforts and the KSU spectral decomposition method will likely prove beneficial as an inexpensive method of near real time water quality monitoring.
Joseph Ortiz (Advisor)
Alison Smith (Committee Member)
Daniel Holm (Committee Member)
Mahbobeh Vezvaei (Committee Member)
93 p.
Remote Sensing
water quality; US Virgin Islands; Remote Sensing; Optically Complex Waters; Ocean Color; Varimax Rotated Principal Component Analysis; KSU Spectral Decomposition; Landsat

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Schlaerth, H. L. (2018). Remote Sensing of Water Quality Parameters Influencing Coral Reef Health, U.S. Virgin Islands [Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1525710103251186

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Schlaerth, Hannah. Remote Sensing of Water Quality Parameters Influencing Coral Reef Health, U.S. Virgin Islands . 2018. Kent State University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1525710103251186.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Schlaerth, Hannah. "Remote Sensing of Water Quality Parameters Influencing Coral Reef Health, U.S. Virgin Islands ." Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1525710103251186

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ksuhonors1525710103251186
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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University Honors College and OhioLINK.