Puget Sound Water Resources

Evaluating Methods for Identifying and Monitoring Factors in the Puget Sound that Indicate Eutrophication and Hypoxia

Evaluating Methods for Identifying and Monitoring Factors in the Puget Sound that Indicate Eutrophication and Hypoxia

Dissolved oxygen levels have been declining in the Puget Sound since 2000 due to eutrophication, resulting in harmful algal bloom (HAB) events, which negatively impact water quality and wildlife in the area. Therefore, analyzing and identifying eutrophication and hypoxic events is important for water quality control and watershed management. The Puget Sound Water Resources team partnered with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) Habitat Program to create a HAB Factors Identification Tool, a HAB Hotspots Map, and a HAB Time Series Analysis using data from Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) from 2010–2017. The team validated the products with water temperature, turbidity, salinity, and chlorophyll-a concentration data collected from buoys located in the Puget Sound. Results will assist the PSMFC Habitat Program to fill geographic and temporal data gaps and to enhance local decision-making practices and management of water resources.


Project Video:
Oxygenless in Seattle
Location
Alabama - Marshall
Term
Spring 2018
Partner(s)
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Habitat Program
NASA Earth Observations
Landsat 8, OLI
Aqua, MODIS
Sentinel-2, MSI
Team
Emily Kinkle (Project Lead)
Helen Baldwin
Christine Evans
Yu Han
Advisor(s)
Dr. Jeffrey Luvall (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center)
Dr. Robert Griffin (University of Alabama in Huntsville)
Dr. Juan L. Torres-Pérez (Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, NASA Ames Research Center)
Leigh Sinclair (University of Alabama in Huntsville/Information Technology and Systems Center)
Maggi Klug (University of Alabama in Huntsville)

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