A multi-sensor approach to examining the distribution of total suspended matter (TSM) in the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System, NC, USA

For many coastal waters, total suspended matter (TSM) plays a major role in key biological, chemical and geological processes. Effective mapping and monitoring technologies for TSM are therefore needed to support research investigations and environmental assessment and management efforts. Although several investigators have demonstrated that TSM or suspended sediments can be successfully mapped using MODIS 250 m data for relatively large water bodies, MODIS 250 m data is of more limited use for smaller estuaries and bays or aquatic systems with complex shoreline geometry. To adequately examine TSM in the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System (APES) of North Carolina, the large-scale synoptic view of MODIS and the higher spatial resolution of other sensors are required. MODIS, Landsat 7 ETM+ and FORMOSAT-2 remote sensing instrument (RSI) data were collected on 8 November, 24 November and 10 December, 2010. Using TSM images (mg/L) derived from MODIS 250 m band 1 (620–670 nm) data, Landsat 7 ETM+ 30 m band 3 (630–690 nm) and FORMOSAT-2 RSI 8 m band 3 (630−690 nm) atmospherically corrected images were calibrated to TSM for select areas of the APES. There was a significant linear relationship between both Landsat 7 ETM+ (r2 = 0.87, n = 599, P < 0.001) and FORMOSAT-2 RSI (r2 = 0.95, n = 583, P < 0.001) reflectance images and MODIS-derived TSM concentrations, thus providing consistent estimates of TSM at 250, 30 and 8 m pixel resolutions. This multi-sensor approach will support a broad range of investigations on the water quality of the APES and help guide sampling schemes of future field campaigns

Global assessment of ocean carbon export by combining satellite observations and food-web models

The export of organic carbon from the surface ocean by sinking particles is an important, yet highly uncertain, component of the global carbon cycle. Here we introduce a mechanistic assessment of the global ocean carbon export using satellite observations, including determinations of net primary production and the slope of the particle size spectrum, to drive a food-web model that estimates the production of sinking zooplankton feces and algal aggregates comprising the sinking particle flux at the base of the euphotic zone. The synthesis of observations and models reveals fundamentally different and ecologically consistent regional-scale patterns in export and export efficiency not found in previous global carbon export assessments. The model reproduces regional-scale particle export field observations and predicts a climatological mean global carbon export from the euphotic zone of ~6 Pg C yr−1. Global export estimates show small variation (typically < 10%) to factor of 2 changes in model parameter values. The model is also robust to the choices of the satellite data products used and enables interannual changes to be quantified. The present synthesis of observations and models provides a path for quantifying the ocean's biological pump

Material Transport in Coastal North Carolina following Hurricanes: A Remote-Sensing Perspective of Hurricane Floyd's Impact

A hydrograph of the Tar River depicts an unprecedented amount of rainfall during Hurricane Floyd. This excess rainfall transported carbon in the form of dissolved organic carbon or Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM). It is important to understand the transport of CDOM because it can photo-oxidize, yielding carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, which has implications for global warming. Using remote sensing, the color photographs from satellites of the Tar and Neuse rivers were examined before and after Hurricane Floyd. Pre-Floyd, sediments that were stirred up by Denis had begun to settle and the Tar and Neuse rivers were brightly colored. Post-Floyd, on September 17, 1999, the Tar and Neuse rivers were dark with CDOM. Ultimately, researchers want to be able to quantify the amount of carbon released during a storm to better understand the potential climate change implications

Material Transport in Coastal North Carolina following Hurricanes: A Remote-Sensing Perspective of Hurricane Floyd's Impact

A hydrograph of the Tar River depicts an unprecedented amount of rainfall during Hurricane Floyd. This excess rainfall transported carbon in the form of dissolved organic carbon or Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM). It is important to understand the transport of CDOM because it can photo-oxidize yielding carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide which has implications for global warming. Using remote sensing the color photographs from satellites of the Tar and Neuse rivers were examined before and after Hurricane Floyd. Pre-Floyd sediments that were stirred up by Denis had begun to settle and the Tar and Neuse rivers were brightly colored. Post-Floyd on September 17 1999 the Tar and Neuse rivers were dark with CDOM. Ultimately researchers want to be able to quantify the amount of carbon released during a storm to better understand the potential climate change implications

A multi-sensor approach to examining the distribution of total suspended matter (TSM) in the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System, NC, USA

For many coastal waters, total suspended matter (TSM) plays a major role in key biological, chemical and geological processes. Effective mapping and monitoring technologies for TSM are therefore needed to support research investigations and environmental assessment and management efforts. Although several investigators have demonstrated that TSM or suspended sediments can be successfully mapped using MODIS 250 m data for relatively large water bodies, MODIS 250 m data is of more limited use for smaller estuaries and bays or aquatic systems with complex shoreline geometry. To adequately examine TSM in the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System (APES) of North Carolina, the large-scale synoptic view of MODIS and the higher spatial resolution of other sensors are required. MODIS, Landsat 7 ETM+ and FORMOSAT-2 remote sensing instrument (RSI) data were collected on 8 November, 24 November and 10 December, 2010. Using TSM images (mg/L) derived from MODIS 250 m band 1 (620--670 nm) data, Landsat 7 ETM+ 30 m band 3 (630--690 nm) and FORMOSAT-2 RSI 8 m band 3 (630−690 nm) atmospherically corrected images were calibrated to TSM for select areas of the APES. There was a significant linear relationship between both Landsat 7 ETM+ (r2 = 0.87, n = 599, P &lt; 0.001) and FORMOSAT-2 RSI (r2 = 0.95, n = 583, P &lt; 0.001) reflectance images and MODIS-derived TSM concentrations, thus providing consistent estimates of TSM at 250, 30 and 8 m pixel resolutions. This multi-sensor approach will support a broad range of investigations on the water quality of the APES and help guide sampling schemes of future field campaigns