TITLE:
Remote Sensing Applied to the Evaluation of Spatial and Temporal Variation of Water Quality in a Coastal Environment, Southeast Brazil
AUTHORS:
Pedro Bettencourt, Julio Cesar Wasserman, Fábio Ferreira Dias, Paulo Roberto Alves, Dandara Bernardino Bezerra, Camila Américo Santos, Luis Perez Zotes, Sérgio Ricardo Barros
KEYWORDS:
Water Quality, Chlorophyll a, Turbidity, MODIS, Remote Sensing
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geographic Information System,
Vol.11 No.5,
October
11,
2019
ABSTRACT: The monitoring of water quality in large coastal regions demands great analytical efforts through the collection of many samples, over long periods. Remote sensing is a reliable tool that can provide valuable information on the spatial and temporal variations of environmental parameters, particularly turbidity and chlorophyll a. The aim of the present research was to evaluate the spatial and temporal distribution of water quality from 2005 to 2017 along the north coast of São Paulo and its responses to the implementation of industrial developments and to variations in rainfall. Fifty-two MODIS images were used, showing concentrations of chlorophyll a and turbidity, in the dry season and wet season, from 2005 to 2017. The results showed that dilution processes (due to rainfall) control chlorophyll a concentrations. However, a notable increase in concentrations could be identified after the installation of some of the developments in the region, particularly roads and ports. Turbidity was also shown to be affected by dilution processes, and during the wet season this parameter presented lower values. No effect in the results of turbidity could be identified from the installation of roads or ports, showing that vegetation cover exerts an important control on the erosional processes.