Detecting massive green algae (Ulva prolifera) blooms in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea using Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) data

Abstract

The historically massive bloom of the green macroalgae Ulva prolifera reported in June–August 2008 around the Qingdao, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and Japan coasts has recurred in a similar season and region. On June 13, 2011, around Qingdao, China, the world’s first Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) detected an enormous bloom of floating green algae, which originated from the nearshore Subei Bank, China. The large floating green algae patches were observed along and across the Yellow Sea and in the East China Sea during 2011 summer by various oceanic cruises. To detect the massive macroalgae blooms from space, we analyzed their spectral characteristics from in situ optical measurements and satellite-derived green algae spectra. An “Index of floating Green Algae for GOCI” (IGAG) was developed from the multiple spectral band ratios using three wavelengths (555, 660, 745 nm), which the spectral response of green algae reflected at 555, 745, and 865 nm and absorbed at 660 and 680 nm. The results were compared with those obtained by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and Korea Ocean Satellite Center (KOSC) approaches. An advantage of the IGAG method was that muted or subtle signals of floating green algae were enhanced and separated from surrounding complex water signals. Although maps of floating green algae derived by the other approaches delineated dense green algae, they were less sensitive to subtle (less dense) features and in cases of nearby cloudy or complex water conditions. The floating green algae maps from IGAG provided a more robust estimate of wide floating green algae blooms than those derived using NDVI, EVI, or KOSC approaches. The IGAG approach should be useful for tracing and monitoring changes in green algae blooms on regional and global scales.