Mapping dinoflagellate blooms (Noctiluca and Alexandrium) in aquaculture production areas in the NW Iberian Peninsula with the Sentinel-2/3 satellites

Abstract

The Galician Rías (northwestern Spain) are periodically affected by harmful algal blooms (HABs), mostly dinoflagellates, which pose a challenge to aquaculture activities due to the accumulation of biotoxins in shellfish. Typically, reddish blooms in the Rías are associated with non-toxic species like Noctiluca scintillans, with a few exceptions such as Alexandrium minutum, a producer of paralytic shellfish toxins (PST). Here, a useful approach is presented for monitoring reddish blooms through satellite imagery based on three case studies, two of them belonged to monospecific blooms of red Noctiluca scintillans, and the third to a bloom of Alexandrium spp. dominated by A. tamarense. In every case, a propulsive index was evaluated using Sentinel-2A/B satellites, which provide high spatial and spectral resolutions, combined with adequate atmospheric and sunglint correction by using the ACOLITE and C2RCC processors. This approach offers a simple and feasible method to accurately and timely map blooms of red N. scintillans and Alexandrium spp. in the study area, useful to detect the distribution of reddish blooms with synoptic observations for monitoring and aquaculture management purposes. Conversely, Sentinel-3A/B satellites with a relatively coarser spatial resolution, lacking adequate visualization and mapping of the extent of small blooms, did not accurately detect bloom footprints in the coastal bay region, although this sensor displays a set of suitable multispectral bands.