Near real-time satellite detection and monitoring of aquatic algae and cyanobacteria: how a combination of chlorophyll-a indices and water-quality sampling was applied to north Texas reservoirs

Abstract. Aquatic algae and cyanobacteria can impair water-quality and pose risks to human and animal health. Several metrics of in-situ water-quality, including chlorophyll-a, phycocyanin, turbidity, Secchi depth, phytoplankton taxonomy, and hyperspectral reflectance, were collected in coordination with Sentinel-2 satellite overpasses to ascertain water-quality conditions and calibrate satellite detection and estimation of chlorophyll-a concentration. The performance of multiple satellite chlorophyll-a detection indices was evaluated by comparing satellite imagery to field observations of chlorophyll-a concentrations. Seventeen chlorophyll-a spectral indices were implemented using the ACOLITE atmosphere correction; the top performing indices were selected for further evaluation using the Sen2Cor and MAIN atmosphere corrections. The Moses three-band spectral index delivered the strongest linear agreement with field measurements of chlorophyll-a concentration across all reservoir sampling sites (R2  =  0.70). Compared to open-water sites, the Moses three-band spectral index delivered better linear agreement with chlorophyll-a field measurements at inlet sites where there was a greater abundance of near surface aquatic chlorophyll-a concentrations, and the overall chlorophyll-a hyperspectral reflectance signal was stronger. Chlorophyll-a concentration estimates were implemented in a cloud-computation remote sensing platform designed for regional scale remote sensing analysis to map spatiotemporal patterns of aquatic chlorophyll-a across 10 study reservoirs located primarily in north Texas.