Can You Spot the Seaweed? Using NASA EOS to Enhance Sargassum Detection

EarthzineDEVELOP Fall 2013 VPS, DEVELOP Virtual Poster Session, Original

Team Location: John C. Stennis Space Center, Stennis, Mississippi

Left) NOAA scientists sample Sargassum. Image Credit: NOAA National Ocean Service. (Right) NDVI calculated on a Landsat 7 ETM+ scene from Aug. 1, 2013, south of Padre Island, Texas, highlighting sargassum mats floating in the Gulf of Mexico. Image Credit: Texas Oceans Team, NASA DEVELOP National Program.

(Left) NOAA scientists sample Sargassum. Image Credit: NOAA National Ocean Service. (Right) NDVI calculated on a Landsat 7 ETM+ scene from Aug. 1, 2013, south of Padre Island, Texas, highlighting sargassum mats floating in the Gulf of Mexico. Image Credit: Texas Oceans Team, NASA DEVELOP National Program.

Authors:

Shelby Barrett, Project Lead (William Carey University)

Brittany Arceneaux (University of New Orleans)

Mekdes Smith (University of Southern Mississippi)

Mentors/Advisers:

Joseph Spruce (Computer Sciences Corp.)

Kenton Ross, Ph.D. (NASA, DEVELOP National Science Adviser)

Thomas Linton, Ph.D. (Texas A&M, Galveston Campus)

Chuanmin Hu, Ph.D. (University of South Florida)

Abstract:

Sargassum is a pelagic brown macroalgae that can be found floating in large, dense mats in the Gulf of Mexico. In open water, these Sargassum mats serve as a valuable habitat to unique communities of marine organisms. However, when these large quantities of Sargassum land on Galveston, Texas, beaches, they pose a serious threat to local tourism. The decomposition of Sargassum and the organisms therein give rise to unattractive odors. Sargassum also can trap plastics, paper, medical and industrial waste. The removal of these large mats is both costly and time-consuming, especially if unexpected. If provided with early notice of the arrival of sargassum, land managers can be better prepared to allocate resources for beach cleanup. Scientists at Texas A&M University at Galveston are exploring the use of NASA’s Earth Observing System, specifically Landsat images, to track Sargassum mats in the Gulf of Mexico as they approach the Texas Gulf Coast. This Sargassum Early Advisory System (SEAS) aims to forewarn coastal managers of these mats so that managers are better prepared for proper cleanup efforts and resources can be allocated appropriately. This project focused on providing SEAS with an improved remote-sensing methodology for image manipulation in order to enhance visual detection of sargassum as it approaches the Texas Coast. This includes calculating various indices on NASA EOS images such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Floating Algae Index (FAI), and various band combinations, in order to determine what allows for the easiest and most accurate detection of Sargassum.

http://youtu.be/Cd6DVakvwiQ

Return to the Fall 2013 VPS page.