Optical detection of Prorocentrum donghaiense blooms based on multispectral reflectance

Prorocentrum donghaiense is one of the most common red tide causative dinoflagellates in the Changjiang (Yangtze) River Estuary and the adjacent area of the East China Sea. It causes large-scale blooms in late spring and early summer that lead to widespread ecologic and economic damage. A means for distinguishing dinoflagellate blooms from diatom(Skeletonema costatum) blooms is desired. On the basis of measurements of remote sensing reflectance [R rs(λ)] and inherent optical parameters, the potential of using a multispectral approach is assessed for discriminating the algal blooms due to P. donghaiense from those due to S. costatum. The behavior of two reflectance ratios [R 1 = R rs(560)/R rs (532) and R 2 = R rs(708)/R rs(665)], suggests that differentiation of P. donghaiense blooms from diatom bloom types is possible from the current band setup of ocean color sensors. It is found that there are two reflectance ratio regimes that indicate a bloom is dominated by P. donghaiense: (1) R 1 > 1.55 and R 2 < 1.0 or (2) R 1 > 1.75 and R 2 ⩾ 1.0. Various sensitivity analyses are conducted to investigate the effects of the variation in varying levels of chlorophyll concentration and colored dissolved organicmatter (CDOM) as well as changes in the backscattering ratio (b bp/b p) on the efficacy of this multispectral approach. Results indicate that the intensity and inherent optical properties of the algal species explain much of the behavior of the two ratios. Although backscattering influences the amplitude of R rs(λ), especially in the 530 and 560 nm bands, the discrimination between P. donghaiense and diatoms is not significantly affected by the variation of b bp/b p. Since a CDOM(440) in coastal areas of the ECS is typically lower than 1.0 m−1 in most situations, the presence of CDOM does not interfere with this discrimination, even as S CDOM varies from 0.01 to 0.026 nm−1. Despite all of these effects, the discrimination of P. donghaiense blooms from diatom blooms based on multispectral measurements of R rs(λ) is feasible.