The author has identified the following significant results. The duPont waste disposal plume was observed in 12 NASA/LANDSAT satellite images during dump up to 54 hours after dump. The circulation processes at the acid waste disposal site are highly event-dominated, with the majority of the water transport occurring strong northeasters. There is a mean flow to the south alongshore. During the warm months, the ocean stratifies with warm water over cold water. During stratified conditions, the near-bottom drogues showed very little movement. LANDSAT, aircraft, and boats were used successfully to study estuarine and coastal fronts or boundaries. By capturing and holding oil slicks, frontal systems significantly influence the movement and dispersion of oil slicks in Delaware Bay. Recent oil slick tracking experiments conducted to verify a predictive oil dispersion and movement model have shown that during certain parts of the tidal cycle the oil slicks tend to line up along boundaries

Bartlett, D.

Davis, G.

Klemas, V.

Philpot, W.

English

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https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19760005345 2020-03-22T17:39:47+00:00Z
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APPLICATION OF LANDSAT-2
TO THE MANAGaMENT OF DELAWARE'S
MARINE AND WETLAND RESOURCES
Dr. V. Klemas, D. Bartlett, W. Philpot, G. Davis
College of Marine Studies
University of Delaware .
(E76 -10044) AFFLICITICN CF LANDSA7 - 2 TC THE	 E76-12433
dAHAGECE17 CF DELAWIEV S CAFIAE ANr UETIANC
FESCUFCrS p rogress FEFcrt, Jul. - Oct. 1975
(DElavare Univ.) 7 F HC $ 3.50	 CSCL 08A	 Unclas
63/43 00044
October 24, 1975
Type [I Progress Report
for period July - October, 1975
CONTRACT NAS5-26983
C>?
Prepard for
GGDDARD ViiCE FLIGHT CENTER
GREENBELT, MD 20711
RECEIVED
OCT 2 9 1974
. ,^	 SIS1902.6
A. PROBLEMS
LANDSAT-2 imagery, particularly CCT's were slow in reaching our
team. However, this problem has recently been corrected.
Spring and summer LANDSAT passes over ,Delaware Bay had excessive
cloud cover. Excellent overpasses were obtained in late summer and in
the fall, with negligible cloud cover.
B. ACCOMPLISHMENTS
a. Coastal Zone Classification From Satellite Imagery
Studies of land cover distribution along Delaware's coast--espe-
cially in tidal wetland--have been made, utilizing semi-automated analysis
of LANDSAT MSS digital data. Cover maps with eleven vegetation and
other cover categories have been produced with accuracy of identifica-
tion above 80% in all categories. Recent studies have tested a new tech-
nique for training automated analysis which uses ground measured reflec-
tance and atmospheric correction techniques to derive signatures for
specific categories in Freference to the relative radiance signatures
derived from training sets within the LANDSAT data itself. Intial tests
using a four category scheme indicate that training data based on abso-
lute measured reflectance and atmospheric correction of LANDSAT data can
produce comparable accuracy of categorization to that achieved using
more conventional relative radiance training. The analysis of the same
four categories produced average categorization accuracies of 82.1% by
conventional relative radiance training and 81.9% by use of absolute re-
flectance signatures. It is believed that refinement of the absolute
reflectance training technique may provide better results in the future.
Regaraless, the absolute reflectance training combined with atmospheric
NOON'
"I
correction of scanner data provides a much more precise and better con-
trolled data base which can be used to identify and assess promising
uses of spectral discrimination in any area studied. Field results,
suggest, for instance, that the height of Spartina alterniflora may, to
some extent, be detectable and that early winter imagery may provide
1
optimal spectral differentiation of several wetlands cover types.
b. Application of LANDSAT to Identify Potential On-shore Impact
of Outer Continental Shelf Development
LANDSAT-2 imagery is being used together with maps, aircraft photo-
graphs, census data and socio-economic iuf ormation to compare the coast-
al development of the Mid-Atlantic Region with the OCS petroleum indus-
try intensive areas along the Louisiana coast; frontier areas such as
Cook Inlet and Kenai Peninsula of Alaska; and contained conflict areas
such as Santa Barbara, Ventura and Carpinteria, California. The identi-
fication of potential on-shore impact of Outer Continental Shelf activity
is a pressing problem, since plans exist for extensive lease sales for
OCS lands continuously during the next five to ten years and are certain
to influence both coastal and second tier counties in most areas. Studies
done by the University of Delaware on the use Lf remote sensing for eval-
uating land-use change have resulted in the ability to closely relate re-
motely observed land-use patterns with parameters that describe economic
and social development.
C. Spectral Reflectance Signatures of Coastal Pollutants
Remote sensing from satellites and aircraft has been combined with
ground truth collected from ships in an attempt to classify coastal and
estuarine water types by their spectral reflectance signatures. In addi-
I
tior. to other field experiments, during one ocean waste disposal opera-
tion 40 miles off the Delaware coast, water samples were collected and
2
spectroradiometric measurements conducted in the field to provide
ground truth for aircraft and LANDSAT overpasses with multispectral
scanners. Ground truth data are being correlated with multispectral
data obtained remotely to define spectral signature tolerances due to
variations in concentration and environmental conditions.
d. Verification by Remote Sensing of an Oil Slick Movem:nt
Prediction Model
LANDSAT, aircraft, ships and air-dropped current drogues have
been deployed to determine current circulation and to track oil slick
movement on four different dates in Delaware Bay. The results were
used to verify a predictive model for oil slick movement and disper-
sion. The model predi-ts the behavior of oil slicks given their S-ze,
location, tidal stage (current), weather (wind) and nature of crude.
I
Both LANDSAT satellites provided valuable data on gross circulation
patterns and convergent coastal fronts which by capturing oil slicks
significatnly influence their movement and dispersion.
C. SIGNIFICANT RESULTS
a. Studies of Current Circulation at Ocean Waste Disposal Sites
The following significant results were obtained using an integrated
LANDSAT-aircraft-drogue technique to study current circulation at the
duPont ocean waste disposal site, 40 miles off the Delaware Coast:
1. The duPont waste plume has been observed in 12 NASA/LANDSAT
satellite images during dump up to 54 hours after dump. Wind,
---_wave and current data are presently being analyzed to determine
their effect on the dispersion and movement of ocean waste plumee.
2. The circulation processes at the acid waste disposal site are
highly event-dominated, with the majority of the water transport
occurring during strong northeasters. During one such storm
from January 21 to January 31, the drogues first moved to within
20 miles of the shoreline, then moved 80 miles off the coast,
reaching speeds up to 3 knots.
3. There is a mean flow to the south alongshore. This appears to
be due to the fact that northeasterly winds produce stronger
currents than those driven by southeasterly winds and by the
thermohaline circulation.
4. During the warm months (May through October), the ot-Ean strati-
fief with warm water over cold water. A distinct thermocline
was observed with expendable bath thermographs during all sum-
mer cruises at depths ranging from 10 to 21 meters.
S. During stratified conditions the near-bottom drogues showed 	 I
I
very little movement. Surface currents responded to wind con-
ditions resulting in rapid movement of surface drogues on windy
days. Mid-depth drogues showed an intermediate behavior, moving
I	 more rapidly as wind velocities increased.
b. The Influcence of Coastal Fronts on the Movement and Dispersion
of Oil Slicks
LANDSAT, aircraft and boats have been used successfully to study
estuarine and coastal fronts or boundaries. Fronts (regions of high
horizontal density gradient with associated horizontal convergence) are
a major hydrographic feature in Delaware Bay and in other estuaries. Hor-
izontal salinity gradients of 4%. in one meter and convergence velocities
of the order of 0.1 k /sec have been observed. Visibility improved from
one meter to two meters as certain boundaries were crossed. Fronts near
the mouth of the bay are associated with the tidal exchange with shelf
water. The formation of fronts in the interior of the bay appears to be
-	 4
^	 L
associated with velocity shears induced by differences in bottom topo-
graphy with iiorizontal denoity difference in the creep water portion of
the estuary. Surface slicks and foam collected at frontal convergence
zones near boundaries were found to contain concentrations of Cz, Cu,
Fe, Hg, Pb, and Zn higher by two to four orders of magnitude than con-
centrations in mean ocean water.
By capturing and holding oil slicks, these frontal systems also
significantly influence the movement and dispersion of oil slicks in
Delaware Bay . Recent oil slick tracking experiments conducted to ver-
ify a predictive oil dispersion and movement model have shown that dur-
ing certain parts of the tidal cycle `he oil slicks tend to line up
along boundaries. Thus, unexpected oil slick distribution patterns re-
sult which even for a known oil type cannot be predicted on the basis of
wind and tidal current information alone.
D. PUBL ,,ATIC,NS
1. Klemas, V. Invited presentation to Captain Jacques Cousteau and
Dr. Philippe Cousteau on Ocean Current Measurement with Integrated
Drogue-Aircraft-Satellite Systems, NASA Headquarters, Washington,
D. C., October 6, 1975.
2. Klemas, V., Bartlett, D., Rogers, R. 	 Coastal Zone Classification
from Satellite Imagery. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote
Sensing, Journal of the American Society of Photogrammtry, Vol. 41,
No. 3, April, 1975.
3. Klemas, V., Otley, M., Wethe, C., Rogers, R. 	 ERTS-1 Studies of
Coastal Water Turbidity and Current Circulation, American Geo-
physical Union 55th Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 8-12,
1974.
4. Klemas, V., Tornatore, G., Whelan, W. 	 A New Current Drogue for
Monitoring Shelf Circulation, American Gelophsical Union 56th
Annual Meeting, Washington, D. C., June 16-20, 1975.
5. Klemas, V and Bartlett, D.	 Application of ERTS-1 and Skylab to
Coastal Zone Management, NASA Earth Resources Survey Symposium,
Houston, June 8-13, 1975.
6. Klemas V., Davis, C., Wang, H., Whelan, W.,
A Cost-Effective Satellite-Aircraft-Drogue
Studying Estuarine Circulation and Shelf W,
Proceedings Ocean 75 Conference, San Diego,
7. Klemas, V., Davis,g., Wang, H., Whelan, W. 	 rioniroring es-
tuarine Circulation and Ocean Waste Dispersion Using Integrated
Satellite-Aircraft-Drogue Approach, International Conference on
Environmental Sensing and Assessment, Las Vegas, September
14-19, 1975.
8. Klemas, V. Remote Sensing of Wetlands Vegetation and Estuarine
Water Properties. Proceedings Third International Estuarine Re-
search Conference, Galveston, October 6-9, 1975. (Invited Paper).
E. RECOMMENDATIONS
Make more attempts to obtain LANDSAf MSS image=; in the high-gain
mode to enchance water features (suspended sediment, etc.).
F. FUNDS
On Schedule.
G. DATA USE
Only several LANDSAT-2 tapes have been received so far. They will
be evaluated during the next reporting period. LANDSAT-2 photographic
products are used frequently within their range of utility.
H. AIRCP.;iFT DATA
Aircraft overflights have been on time and/or target. Imagery is
on order and will be evaluated during the next three months.
I. PERSONNEL CHANGES
None.
('1


Application of LANDSAT-2 to the Management of Delaware's Marine and Wetland Resources

The author has identified the following significant results. Imagery from LANDSAT 1 and 2 was analyzed to determine the location, type, and extent of fronts and boundaries in Delaware Bay as a function of tidal conditions. This information is being used to set up a subroutine for an oil slick movement prediction model

Application of LANDSAT-2 to the Management of Delaware's Marine and Wetland Resources

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