Satellite Remote Sensing for Monitoring and
Assessment
Group on Earth Observations
June 12, 2014
Blake Schaeffer, Ph.D.
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
National Exposure Research Laboratory
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Outline
• Barriers
• Numeric criteria
• Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN)
• Future directions
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Barriers
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Cost
– Satellite imagery only obtained with
financial commitment
– Personnel and resources required to
process the data
Product Accuracy
– Concern of accuracy and error estimates
– Less concern regarding the error with
standard in situ measurements
Data Continuity
– Mission continuity was relevant to
investment
Programmatic support
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– Buy-in and support from organizational
management was important.
Source: Schaeffer et al. IJRS 2013. 34:7534-7544
Numeric criteria
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EPA Administrator determined that “new or revised numeric standards are
necessary” to address nutrients
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Related consent decree calls for two-phase rulemaking
– Inland waters rule
– Estuarine/Coastal and South Florida Rule
• Final rulemaking - November 2012
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Numeric criteria
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Best available data
– Compiled data for Florida waters
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Scientific rationale
– Use the latest scientific knowledge
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General water body classifications
– Estuaries
– Coastal Waters
– Southern Inland Flowing Waters and Marine Waters
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Numeric criteria
Reference condition
– Water body currently minimally impacted by nutrients and supporting
natural populations
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Coastal chlorophyll
– No trend in chlorophyll from 1998-2009
– Slope not significantly different from zero (p>0.05)
FP
(p=0.42)
WFS (p=0.34)
AC
(p=0.76)
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Numeric criteria
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FDEP’s Water Body Identification
Numbers (WBIDs)
– Start at land
– Extended seaward 4 NM
– Typically centered at estuary
pass
– Coastal segments
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Source: Schaeffer et al. ES&T 2012. 46:916-922
Numeric criteria
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Annual geometric means of ChlRSa in each segment were calculated
using only SeaWiFS
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Criteria values were calculated
from the 90th percentile, by
segment, of all annual geometric
means during the reference period
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Source: Schaeffer et al. ES&T 2012. 46:916-922
Numeric criteria
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Mission continuity
– “…the future availability of ChlRS-a data is in doubt, particularly given
the loss of the SeaWiFS sensor.”
Source: EPA-SAB-11-010
– “Of course there is always the issue as to whether or not satellites go offline in the future….If satellites would go off-line…and there is no funding
to put satellites in orbit to do this work than that would definitely cause
some concern.”
Source: Schaeffer et al. IJRS 2013. 34:7534-7544
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Numeric criteria
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SeaWiFS, MODIS, MERIS,
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VIIRS?, Sentinel-3?, PACE?, GEOCAPE?
• Field data used within ±3 hr satellite
overpass time
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Source: Schaeffer et al. JARS 2013. 7: 073544-1
Numeric criteria
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“…recurrent topic in panel
discussions was the ‘missing
kilometer’ at the coast...”
Source: EPA SAB Draft Report
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NASA PACE SDT Report (2012)
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Source: Schaeffer et al. ES&T 2012. 46:916-922
Numeric criteria
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Source: Schaeffer et al. JARS 2013. 7: 073544-1
Numeric criteria
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Coastal Florida Rule
Proposed rulemaking: Nov. 30, 2012
Final rulemaking: Sept. 2013
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Source: Schaeffer et al. JARS 2013. 7: 073544-1
CyAN Introduction
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HABs = $2.2 billion annual freshwater degradation (Dodds et al. 2009).
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HAB and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2013
Toxic algae in Hoover Reservoir cost city
Choking on growth, part III
Polluted farm runoff linked to toxic green algae
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Cyanobacteria and their toxins are addressed differently by each state
(Graham et al. 2009)
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Timely and useful delivery of satellite data is needed (Schaeffer et al.
2013).
CyAN Partners and Stakeholders
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Previous support
– EPA - Office of Research and Development, Pathfinder Innovation Project II
– EPA - NASA Applied Science Program announcement NNH08ZDA001N
– NOAA - NASA Applied Science Program announcement NNH08ZDA001N
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EPA Office of Water
– Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
– Office of Wastewater Management
– Office of Science and Technology
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GLNPO
States
– Ohio EPA
– St. Johns River WMD
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CyAN Technical Approach
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CyAN Methods
• 378,153 lakes in U.S.
• ~153,000 lakes considered in 2007 National Lake Assessment
• MERIS and Sentinel-3
– 9,347 lakes w/ 3x3 300 m pixel array
– 6 % of National Lakes Assessment
• Landsat
– ~153,000 lakes w/ 5x5 30 m pixel array
– 100% of National Lake Assessment w/ 5x5 array
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CyAN Methods
• Spatial scale
– 300 x 300 m
• Temporal scales
– ≤ 1-day
– ± 1, 3, 5 and 7 days
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CyAN Methods
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CyAN Results
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Lunetta et al. (In Review) RSE
CyAN Results
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Cyanobacteria cell count ranges
– Low (10,000–109,999)
• WHO Low-Moderate
– Medium (110,000–299,999)
– High (300,000–1,000,000)
– Very high (>1,000,000)
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Lunetta et al. (In Review) RSE
CyAN Results
• Correspondence %
(+/- 7 days)
– Low = 90%
– Medium = 17%
– High = 35%
– Very High = 83%
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Lunetta et al. (In Review) RSE
CyAN Results
Grand Lake St. Mary, Ohio: MERIS Cyano index 2010
Low [conc]
Very High [conc]
Source: NOAA Coastal Ocean Science
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Crowd Source CyAN Mobile Application
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Android OS
Google Play
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Schaeffer et al. (In Prep) PNAS
Crowd Source CyAN Mobile Application
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Schaeffer et al. (In Prep) PNAS
Crowd Source CyAN Mobile Application
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Schaeffer et al. (In Prep) PNAS
Crowd Source CyAN Mobile Application
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Schaeffer et al. (In Prep) PNAS
Crowd Source Prediction Algorithm
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Now through June 28th!
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2006 National Land Cover
Database
Water Quality Portal
National Climatic Data Center
MERIS/Sentinel-3
cyanobacteria counts
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Crowd Source Prediction Algorithm
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Crowd Source Prediction Algorithm
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Future Approach
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Remote Sensing
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Environment
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Exposure and human health effects in drinking and recreational waters.
Economics
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Identify landscape linkages causes of chlorophyll-a and cyanobacteria.
Health
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Uniform and systematic approach for identifying cyanobacteria blooms.
Strategy for evaluation and refinement of algorithms across platforms.
Behavioral responses and economic value of the early warning system.
Notifications
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Bring the technology to EPA, states and tribal partners.
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Impacts
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Inform and advise under the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act.
Complement National Aquatic Resource Surveys
Applied novel sophisticated tool to assist in management of events that may involve
significant risk to the public.
Increased use of remotely sensed water quality data to improve decision support in
EPA and state agencies
Decrease costs of monitoring, improve resource allocations, and reduce exposures
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