Multitemporal spectral analysis for algae detection in an eutrophic lake using Sentinel 2 images

Abstract

Eutrophication is characterized by excessive plant and algal growth due to the increased of organic matter, carbon dioxide and nutrients in water body. Although eutrophication naturally occurs over centuries as lakes age, human activities have accelerated it processes and caused dramatic changes to the aquatic ecosystems including elevated algae blooms and risk for hypoxia as well as degradation in the quality of drinking water and fisheries. Monitoring eutrophic processes is therefore highly important to human health and to the aquatic environment. However, the spatial and seasonal distribution of the phenomena and its dynamic are difficult to be resolved using conventional methods as water sampling or sparse acquisition of remote sensing data. This research work proposes a methodology that takes advantage of the high temporal resolution of Sentinel-2 (S2) for monitoring eutrophic reservoir. Specifically, it uses large temporal series of S2 images and advanced temporal unmixing model to estimate the abundance of [Chl-a] and algae species in San Roque reservoir, Argentina, in the period August 2016 to August 2019. The spatial patterns and the temporal tendencies of these aquatic indicators, that have a direct link to Eutrophication, were analysed and evaluated using in situ data in order to assess their contribution to the local water management.