INTEGRATED APPROACH TO BETTER DETERMINING ALGAL BLOOMS IN CASE II WATERS IN THE KUWAIT BAY: A REMOTE SENSING BASED APPROACH

Observations extracted from satellite sensors, namely the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) as well as field data was applied to detect the spatial and temporal variations in the distribution of algal blooms in the Kuwait Bay. To date the total collection (39,800 scenes) of MODIS images acquired (07/2002 to 07/2012) over the Kuwait Bay were examined whereas only a small subset (330 scenes) of MERIS data (07/2003 to 12/2005) was processed. Kuwait Bay waters are optically complex Case II waters that are more turbid or productive with high concentrations of various constituents such as colored dissolved organic matter, sediments, and nutrients. Given the complexities of the Kuwait Bay various chlorophyll-a algorithms (e.g. Ocean Color2, Ocean Color3, GSM, GIOP, Chlor-a (MERIS), Chlor-a (MODIS) have been employed to select the optimum algorithm that can best identify the distribution of the algal blooms and accurately measure their chlorophyll-a concentration. This is being accomplished by correlating the various satellite-based distribution and chlorophyll-a concentration of the blooms with those measured in the field (from 09/1999 to 07/2011). Preliminary results show that out of all 3 MODIS-based algorithms, the Chlor-a product shows the highest correspondence between field and satellite-based chlorophyll-a concentration, so does the Chlor-a MERIS-based product. Caution should be exercised regarding the latter as only a small subset of MERIS data was analyzed. Processing of the remaining images acquired by MERIS over the Kuwait Bay is underway.