Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-3-2024

Department

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Department of Applied Computing

Abstract

The Programmable Hyperspectral Seawater Scanner (PHySS) represents a significant breakthrough in monitoring harmful algal blooms (HABs), specifically targeting the “Florida red tide” caused by Karenia brevis. By utilizing a Fourth-Derivative Spectral Similarity Index (SI), this study establishes a strong positive correlation between the SI and phytoplankton counts, underscoring the PHySS’s potential for early detection and effective management of HABs. Our findings suggest that the PHySS could act as a predictive tool, offering crucial lead time to mitigate the ecological and economic repercussions of blooms. However, this study also identifies certain limitations of the PHySS technology, such as its inability to differentiate among various phytoplankton species without additional physical verification of cell counts. This limitation highlights the need for a multifaceted approach to HAB management. Our research suggests that adopting a multi-modal monitoring strategy could lead to more sophisticated and effective methods for combating HABs, fostering an optimistic outlook for future advancements in this area.

Publisher's Statement

Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12101746

Publication Title

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Version

Publisher's PDF

Download

Share

COinS