HR: 09:30h
AN: H31L-07    [Abstracts]
TI: Mapping Pollution Plumes in Areas Impacted by Hurricane Katrina With Imaging Spectroscopy
AU: * Swayze, G A
EM: gswayze@usgs.gov
AF: U.S. Geological Survey, MS964 Box 25046 DFC, Denver, CO 80225, United States
AU: Furlong, E T
EM: efurlong@usgs.gov
AF: U.S. Geological Survey, MS407 Box 25046 DFC, Denver, CO 80225, United States
AU: Livo, K E
EM: elivo@usgs.gov
AF: U.S. Geological Survey, MS973 Box 25046 DFC, Denver, CO 80225, United States
AB: New Orleans endured flooding on a massive scale subsequent to Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. Contaminant plumes were noticeable in satellite images of the city in the days following flooding. Many of these plumes were caused by oil, gasoline, and diesel that leaked from inundated vehicles, gas stations, and refineries. News reports also suggested that the flood waters were contaminated with sewage from breached pipes. Effluent plumes such as these pose a potential health hazard to humans and wildlife in the aftermath of hurricanes and potentially from other catastrophic events (e.g., earthquakes, shipping accidents, chemical spills, and terrorist attacks). While the extent of effluent plumes can be gauged with synthetic aperture radar and broad- band visible-infrared images (Rykhus, 2005) (e.g., Radarsat and Landsat ETM+) the composition of the plumes could not be determined. These instruments lack the spectral resolution necessary to do chemical identification. Imaging spectroscopy may help solve this problem. Over 60 flight lines of NASA Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data were collected over New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta, and the Gulf Coast from one to two weeks after Katrina while the contaminated water was being pumped out of flooded areas. These data provide a unique opportunity to test if imaging spectrometer data can be used to identify the chemistry of these flood-related plumes. Many chemicals have unique spectral signatures in the ultraviolet to near-infrared range (0.2 - 2.5 microns) that can be used as fingerprints for their identification. We are particularly interested in detecting thin films of oil, gasoline, diesel, and raw sewage suspended on or in water. If these materials can be successfully differentiated in the lab then we will use spectral-shape matching algorithms to look for their spectral signatures in the AVIRIS data collected over New Orleans and other areas impacted by Katrina. If imaging spectroscopy can be used to identify plume composition on a regional scale than this information would help emergency personnel prioritize evacuations, help government agencies formulate cleanup strategies, and help ecologists assess the potential damage to wetlands and wildlife. This work could be the start of a new application of hyperspectral data for world-wide monitoring of spills from space-based imaging spectrometers. AVIRIS data used to test our method were corrected for solar flux, atmospheric absorptions, and scattering using the Atmospheric CORrection Now (ACORN) radiative transfer algorithm and residual artifacts were removed using ground spectra of a concrete runway at the Gulfport Airport in Mississippi. The resulting apparent reflectance data were mapped for spectral signatures of pollution plumes and results will be presented.
DE: 1640 Remote sensing (1855)
DE: 1813 Eco-hydrology
DE: 1871 Surface water quality
DE: 4264 Ocean optics (0649)
DE: 4275 Remote sensing and electromagnetic processes (0689, 2487, 3285, 4455, 6934)
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting