A first attempt at testing correlation between MODIS ocean colour data and in situ chlorophyll-a measurements within Maltese coastal waters

The study of spatio-temporal trends for key water quality parameters in the Maltese coastal waters is hindered by the lack of systematic observations spanning over the full domain and for sufficiently long time periods. Satellite data offer an alternative source of information, but require ground truthing against in situ measurements. The aim of this study is to attempt the statistical comparison of MODIS ocean colour data, for a near-shore marine area off the north-east coastline of Malta, with in situ surface chlorophyll-a measurements, and to extract a twelve-month ocean colour data series for the same marine area. Peaks in surface chlorophyll-a concentration occurred in the January-February period, with lowest values being recorded during the early spring period. Log bias values indicate that the MODIS dataset under-estimates the surface chlorophyll-a values, whilst RMSD and r2 values suggest that the match-up between satellite and in situ values is only partly consistent.

DEIDUN Alan;  DRAGO A.;  GALEA A.;  AZZOPARDI J.;  GAUCI A.;  MELIN Frederic; 

2012-02-20

Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

JRC66683

9780819488022,   

0277-786X,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC66683,   

10.1117/12.896189,