Article

Satellite remote sensing of phytoplankton phenology in Lake Balaton using 10 years of MERIS observations

Details

Citation

Palmer S, Odermatt D, Hunter P, Brockmann C, Presing M, Balzter H & Toth V (2015) Satellite remote sensing of phytoplankton phenology in Lake Balaton using 10 years of MERIS observations. Remote Sensing of Environment, 158, pp. 441-452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.11.021

Abstract
Phytoplankton biomass is important to monitor in lakes due to its influence on water quality and lake productivity. Phytoplankton has also been identified as sensitive to environmental change, with shifts in the seasonality of blooms, or phenology, resulting from changing temperature and nutrient conditions. A satellite remote sensing approach to retrieving and mapping freshwater phytoplankton phenology is demonstrated here in application to Lake Balaton, Hungary. Chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration mapping using Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) allows new insights into such spatiotemporal dynamics for Lake Balaton as bloom start, peak and end timing, duration, maximum chl-a concentrations, spatial extent, rates of increase and decrease, and bloom chl-a concentration integral. TIMESAT software is used to extract and map these phenology metrics. Three approaches to time series smoothing are compared and mapped metrics are evaluated in comparison with phenology metrics of in situ chl-a. The high degree of both spatial and temporal variability is highlighted and discussed, as are methodological limitations and correlation between phenology metrics. Both the feasibility of and novel insights permitted through such phenology mapping are demonstrated, and priority topics for future research are suggested.

Keywords
Phenology; Phytoplankton; Inland waters; Remote sensing; Seasonality; TIMESAT; MERIS; Lake Balaton

Journal
Remote Sensing of Environment: Volume 158

StatusPublished
FundersNatural Environment Research Council, Marie Curie Programme Initial Training Network, ESA Diversity-II project, Fonds de Recherche du Québec — Nature et Technologies, GIONET and Fourth Framework Programme
Publication date01/03/2015
Publication date online02/01/2015
Date accepted by journal10/11/2014
URLhttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/21422
PublisherElsevier
ISSN0034-4257

People (1)

Professor Peter Hunter

Professor Peter Hunter

Professor, Scotland's International Environment Centre

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