A study of coastal waters at regional validation sites using observations from VIIRS, PACE, and EMIT

This study analyzed coastal water quality at selected regional validation sites such as the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Bay using VIIRS, PACE/OCI, and JPL EMIT observations. The goal was to evaluate the capability of these sensors in monitoring water quality along the coast and lakes, as well as the ability to detect cyanobacteria using satellite and ground data. First, several key variables from the PACE/OCI level 2 ocean color products, such as Inherent Optical Properties (IOP) and Apparent Optical Properties (AOP) over the region of interest were analyzed to see correlations for water clarity, turbidity, color dissolved organic matter (CDOM), phycocyanin, and phycoerythrin; Second, cyanobacteria index maps were generated using hyperspectral observations from EMIT and PACE/OCI; Third, laboratory tests with spectroscopic analysis of water samples were performed, including measurements of clear, and turbid water to identify spectral characteristics.