Cyanobacteria Algal Blooms and Remote Sensing
LANDSAT:
Landsat 7 launched on April 15, 1999, is the seventh satellite of the Landsat program. Landsat 7's key goal is to make the global archive of satellite images up-to-date. The Landsat Program is managed and operated by the USGS, and data from Landsat 7 is also collected and distributed by the USGS.
According to NASA, "The Landsat program offers the longest continuous global record of the Earth’s surface; its mission is continuing to deliver optimally stunning and scientifically valuable images of our planet".
MODIS:
According to NASA, "MODIS (or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) is a fundemantal instrument aboard the Terra (EOS AM) and Aqua (EOS PM) satellites. Terra's orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from north to south across the equator in the morning, while Aqua passes south to north over the equator in the afternoon. Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS are viewing the entire Earth's surface every 1 to 2 days". To read more...
Example of using MODIS data in detecting Cyanbacteria Algal blooms:
According to NASA Earth Observatory (July 9, 2008), "As Chinese officials and residents tried to prepare themselves to host the 2008 Summer Olympics in the city of Qingdao to host the games’ sailing competitions, and in attempt to develop its coastal waters which were struggled with a stubborn adversary: alga, they benefited from the the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite which captured true-color and false-color images of Qingdao and the bay of Jiaozhou Wan, showing the amount of cyanobacteria algal blooms locations as shown in the below images". Click here to read more...
Example of using Landsat 7 and its data in predicting Cyanbacteria Algal blooms locations:
A case study: "the real monster of Lake Champlain" done by Joanna Emily from Thomas Nelson Community College, Emily Gotschalk from Christopher Newport UNiversity, and Patrick Faha from Old Dominion University. Their study predicted cyanobacteria algal blooms occurrence possibilities in the lake by using two sensors data: Landsat 7 and MODIS (NASA DEVELOP National Program, July 21, 2014). In order to predict cyanobacteria algal blooms, they used landsat 7 enhanced thematic mapper plus data from July 2002 to June 2013. While they used the Aqua MODIS product MYD09GA to construct time series to identify long time trend in the occurance of blooms. To know more about this case study watch the below video.
Credit: NASA DEVELOP National Program