Research Index

 

Consortium for Estuarine Ecoindicator Research for the Gulf of Mexico About Us | Goals | Research | Calendar | Students | Publications | Contacts | Links | Internal Use

<<< back to project index

Remote Sensing/GIS

Dr. Luoheng Han lhan@bama.ua.edu

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Keywords: remote sensing; chlorophyll concentration; turbidity; water color; surface temperature

Remote Sensing allows a retrospective, synoptic viewing of large regions and so provides the potential for geographically and temporally detailed assessment of environmental systems. With the use of appropriate algorithms and minimum field measures, a continuous estimate of some environmental parameters (e.g., ocean color, temperature, and turbidity) can be extracted from remotely sensed imagery. This can allow scaling up from station-based to regional levels. This capability is useful for studying the temporal and spatial patterns of environmental indicators across different scales.

The overall aim of incorporating Remote Sensing and GIS into the CEER-GOM program is to provide an effective monitoring and data management framework in support of the evaluation of the integrated condition of the estuarine ecosystems. Specifically, this component has four objectives: (1) to estimate key environmental indicators for the targeted estuaries and/or their upstream coastal watersheds, (2) to establish a comprehensive spatial database in support of the entire effort within the project, (3) to determine the relationship between watershed condition and estuarine condition, and (4) to deliver spatial data and research results to the public

Dr. Han will incorporate close-range hyperspectral data and satellite remotely sensed data, e.g., Landsat TM/ETM+, ASTER and other sensing systems.

Dr. Xiaojun Yang xyang@fsu.edu

Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

Keywords: GIS; remote sensing; landscape ecology

Hypoxic conditions in estuarine ecosystems, which are often associated with increased nutrient loading, are regarded as one of the major factors responsible for declines in habitat quality and harvestable resources. In addition to chronic hypoxia, estuarine organisms are frequently subjected to daily variations in dissolved oxygen (DO) that may range from supersaturation at mid-day to hypoxic at night. The main objective of the master proposal is to develop indicators of DO stress and estuarine condition at three levels of increasing biological complexity (individual/population, community and ecosystem/watershed) in three estuarine ecosystems in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

The major tasks in the proposed remote sensing and GIS component include:

1. To extract environmental parameters (land use/cover change in coastal watershed, chlorophyll concentration, and water turbidity) from high-resolution remotely sensed data,
2. To establish a comprehensive spatial database in support of the entire effort within the project,
3. To help determine the relationship between watershed condition and estuarine condition, and
4. To deliver spatial data and research results to the public through www.

<<< back to project index