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ArticleAuthors
Gokul, Elamurugu AliasRaitsos, Dionysios E.
Gittings, John

Alkawri, Abdulsalam
Hoteit, Ibrahim

KAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) DivisionEarth Fluid Modeling and Prediction Group
Earth Science and Engineering Program
Marine Science Program
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division
KAUST Grant Number
REP/1/3268-01-01Date
2019-04-16Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/631948
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are of global concern, as their presence is often associated with socio-economic and environmental issues including impacts on public health, aquaculture and fisheries. Therefore, monitoring the occurrence and succession of HABs is fundamental for managing coastal regions around the world. Yet, due to the lack of adequate in situ measurements, the detection of HABs in coastal marine ecosystems remains challenging. Sensors on-board satellite platforms have sampled the Earth synoptically for decades, offering an alternative, cost-effective approach to routinely detect and monitor phytoplankton. The Red Sea, a large marine ecosystem characterised by extensive coral reefs, high levels of biodiversity and endemism, and a growing aquaculture industry, is one such region where knowledge of HABs is limited. Here, using high-resolution satellite remote sensing observations (1km, MODIS-Aqua) and a second-order derivative approach, in conjunction with available in situ datasets, we investigate for the first time the capability of a remote sensing model to detect and monitor HABs in the Red Sea. The model is able to successfully detect and generate maps of HABs associated with different phytoplankton functional types, matching concurrent in situ data remarkably well. We also acknowledge the limitations of using a remote-sensing based approach and show that regardless of a HAB's spatial coverage, the model is only capable of detecting the presence of a HAB when the Chl-a concentrations exceed a minimum value of ~ 1 mg m-3. Despite the difficulties in detecting HABs at lower concentrations, and identifying species toxicity levels (only possible through in situ measurements), the proposed method has the potential to map the reported spatial distribution of several HAB species over the last two decades. Such information is essential for the regional economy (i.e., aquaculture, fisheries & tourism), and will support the management and sustainability of the Red Sea's coastal economic zone.Citation
Gokul EA, Raitsos DE, Gittings JA, Alkawri A, Hoteit I (2019) Remotely sensing harmful algal blooms in the Red Sea. PLOS ONE 14: e0215463. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215463.Sponsors
This research was funded by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) (REP/1/3268-01-01 to IH). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)Journal
PLOS ONEae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1371/journal.pone.0215463
Scopus Count
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