1. A comparison of chlorophyll a values obtained from an autonomous underwater vehicle to satellite-based measures for Lake Michigan
- Author
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Brian Kieft, David M. Warner, Peter C. Esselman, Brett Hobson, and David H. Bennion
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Chlorophyll a ,Ecology ,010604 marine biology & hydrobiology ,010501 environmental sciences ,Aquatic Science ,01 natural sciences ,Water depth ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Water column ,Underwater vehicle ,chemistry ,Chlorophyll ,Satellite data ,Environmental science ,Underwater ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Water sampling ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Remote sensing - Abstract
Accurate methods to track changes in lake productivity through time and space are critical to fisheries management. Chlorophyll a is the most widely studied proxy for ecosystem primary production and has been the topic of many studies. The main sources of chlorophyll a measurements are ship-based measures or multi-spectral satellite data. Autonomous underwater vehicles can survey large spatial extents approaching the scale of satellite data, but with the accuracy of ship-based water sampling methods. We use several statistical measures to compare measures of chlorophyll a collected in Lake Michigan with spatiotemporally matched satellite-derived measures of chlorophyll a from the MODIS Aqua multi-spectral sensor using NASA's OC3 and the Great Lakes Fit algorithms. Our findings show a near one to one relationship between AUV data and both satellite-derived data sets when the AUV data are coarsened to the resolution of the satellite data. A comparison of satellite-based chlorophyll a to AUV-derived chlorophyll summarized in discrete water depth bins suggested that, based on decreasing coefficients of determination, satellite estimates of chlorophyll accounted for the most variability in chlorophyll a concentrations in the upper 10 m of the water column, even though satellite sensors may detect past this depth.
- Published
- 2019