New WRC reports July 2011

Abstract

Report No: 1852/1/10 An investigation of the potential use of ocean colour remote sensing to assess the influence of variations in freshwater inputs to coastal ecosystems: Phytoplankton and sediment dynamics of the Natal Bight (S Bernard & M Smith) New Case 2 ocean colour projects from the Medium Resolution Imaging Sensor (MERS) have been analysed for the first time in South Africa, providing a preliminary qualitative ability to synoptically map phytoplankton biomass, suspended sediment and dissolved organic material in the Natal Bight. Preliminary findings indicate that the default MERIS ‘Algal 1’ and ‘Algal 2’ products are not effective in the Case 2 waters of the Natal Bight and that the Case 2 Regional processor is more accurate and robust in these inshore water types, but appears to function less well in mesotrophic and oligotrophic waters, among others.

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