HR: 1340h
AN: B53B-1185    [Abstracts]
TI: Remote Sensing of Giant Kelp Forest Cover and Biomass Using SPOT Multispectral Imagery
AU: * Siegel, D A
EM: davey@icess.ucsb.edu
AF: UC Santa Barbara, Institute for Computational Earth System Science UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3060, United States
AU: Cavanaugh, K
EM: kyle@icess.ucsb.edu
AF: UC Santa Barbara, Institute for Computational Earth System Science UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3060, United States
AU: Kinlan, B P
EM: kinlan@lifesci.ucsb.edu
AF: UC Santa Barbara, Institute for Computational Earth System Science UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3060, United States
AU: Reed, D C
EM: reed@lifesci.ucsb.edu
AF: UC Santa Barbara, Institute for Computational Earth System Science UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3060, United States
AB: We present a method for the remote assessment giant kelp ( Macrocyctis pyrifera) canopy cover and carbon biomass using SPOT multispectral imagery is presented for the kelp forests near Santa Barbara, California. After atmospheric correction by the dark pixel method, kelp-covered pixels are identified by their high near-infrared and low green spectral signals using a principal components approach. Diver measurements of frond density and total kelp biomass are available at three kelp forest sites. Comparisons of these field observations with satellite determinations of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) show high correlation with canopy carbon biomass measurements (r² = 0.63) providing a satellite based method for determining giant kelp areal biomass. The SPOT satellite determinations of cover and biomass are validated on both pixel and bed scales using monthly visual estimates of biomass, available aerial photographic surveys of kelp cover, and diver mapping of kelp bed extent and biomass. Bi-monthly SPOT imagery for these reef systems start in 2004 and continue through 2007. Comparisons are also made with field estimates of kelp net primary production (NPP), the flux of photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) at the sea floor and available data on sea surface temperature, horizontal currents, surface gravity wave action, terrestrial runoff, and ambient chlorophyll concentrations. Our goal is to observe intraseasonal to interannual changes in kelp cover and biomass and to attribute the processes driving the time/space variations in kelp canopy growth, disturbance and colonization.
DE: 0428 Carbon cycling (4806)
DE: 0442 Estuarine and nearshore processes (4235)
DE: 0476 Plant ecology (1851)
DE: 0480 Remote sensing
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting