Spatio-Temporal Variations and Driving Forces of Harmful Algal Blooms in Chaohu Lake: A Multi-Source Remote Sensing Approach

Jieying Ma,Wei Shang,Yang He,Shuanggen Jin,Jian Li

doi:10.3390/rs13030427

Abstract

Harmful algal blooms (hereafter HABs) pose significant threats to aquatic health and environmental safety. Although satellite remote sensing can monitor HABs at a large-scale, it is always a challenge to achieve both high spatial and high temporal resolution simultaneously with a single earth observation system (EOS) sensor, which is much needed for aquatic environment monitoring of inland lakes. This study proposes a multi-source remote sensing-based approach for HAB monitoring in Chaohu Lake, China, which integrates Terra/Aqua MODIS, Landsat 8 OLI, and Sentinel-2A/B MSI to attain high temporal and spatial resolution observations. According to the absorption characteristics and fluorescence peaks of HABs on remote sensing reflectance, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) algorithm for MODIS, the floating algae index (FAI) and NDVI combined algorithm for Landsat 8, and the NDVI and chlorophyll reflection peak intensity index (ρchl) algorithm for Sentinel-2A/B MSI are used to extract HAB. The accuracies of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), floating algae index (FAI), and chlorophyll reflection peak intensity index (ρchl) are 96.1%, 95.6%, and 93.8% with the RMSE values of 4.52, 2.43, 2.58 km2, respectively. The combination of NDVI and ρchl can effectively avoid misidentification of water and algae mixed pixels. Results revealed that the HAB in Chaohu Lake breaks out from May to November; peaks in June, July, and August; and more frequently occurs in the western region. Analysis of the HAB’s potential driving forces, including environmental and meteorological factors of temperature, rainfall, sunshine hours, and wind, indicated that higher temperatures and light rain favored this HAB. Wind is the primary factor in boosting the HAB’s growth, and the variation of a HAB’s surface in two days can reach up to 24.61%. Multi-source remote sensing provides higher observation frequency and more detailed spatial information on a HAB, particularly the HAB’s long-short term changes in their area.

Highlights

As a vital freshwater resource, lakes provide essential and diverse habitats and ecosystem functions, and play vital roles in climate regulation, global carbon, nutrient cycles, thereby contributing to the industrial, agricultural, and food industries around the lakes [1].the aquatic environment has been put at risk by both climate change and anthropogenic factors [2,3]
Visual interpretation was analyzed based on 86 MODIS images and 2 Landsat images; images were used to be the verification data to compare the accuracy of each extraction algorithm (Figure 6)
The results show that wind speed is an essential factor for the harmful algal bloom (HAB) outbreak and spread in Chaohu Lake

Summary

Introduction

As a vital freshwater resource, lakes provide essential and diverse habitats and ecosystem functions, and play vital roles in climate regulation, global carbon, nutrient cycles, thereby contributing to the industrial, agricultural, and food industries around the lakes [1]. The aquatic environment has been put at risk by both climate change and anthropogenic factors [2,3]. Wastewater discharge, farmland drainage, soil erosion, and agricultural fertilization are primary nutrient sources leading to lake eutrophication. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from inefficient sewage treatment systems and agricultural practices threaten to increase pollution and cause inland lakes’ eutrophication [4]. Lake eutrophication may cause a harmful algal bloom (HAB), which is widely distributed, adaptable, and destructive [5]. A HAB increases oxygen consumption in the Remote Sens.

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion