Caren E. Binding

Environment and Climate Change Canada · Water Science and Technology Directorate

Eutrophication of inland lakes poses various societal and ecological threats, making water quality monitoring crucial. Satellites provide a comprehensive and cost-effective supplement to traditional in situ sampling. The Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument (S2 MSI) offers unique spectral bands positioned to quantify chlorophyll a, a water-quality a...

Ocean color satellites have provided a synoptic view of global phytoplankton for over 25 years through near surface measurements of the concentration of chlorophyll a. While remote sensing of ocean color has revolutionized our understanding of phytoplankton and their role in the oceanic and freshwater ecosystems, it is important to consider both to...

In the above article [1] , the references in the following paragraph should be corrected as shown below. This excerpt appears in the first column on page 4 of the above article.

The development of algorithms for remote sensing of water quality (RSWQ) requires a large amount of in situ data to account for the bio-geo-optical diversity of inland and coastal waters. The GLObal Reflectance community dataset for Imaging and optical sensing of Aquatic environments (GLORIA) includes 7,572 curated hyperspectral remote sensing refl...

Despite significant declines in external phosphorus loads, Lake of the Woods continues to experience severe recurring cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) covering as much as 80% of the lake surface area. Satellite-derived bloom indices were used to assess the status, trends, and drivers of cHAB conditions for the period 2002 to 2021 in supp...

Many regions of the Great Lakes now see recurring cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs), with documented repercussions for ecosystem services, public health, and ecosystem integrity. Early detection and comprehensive monitoring of cyanoHABs are fundamental to their effective management and mitigation of detrimental impacts. Satellite remo...

Constructing multi-source satellite-derived water quality (WQ) products in inland and nearshore coastal waters from the past, present, and future missions is a long-standing challenge. Despite inherent differences in sensors' spectral capability, spatial sampling, and radiometric performance, research efforts focused on formulating, implementing, a...

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms are an increasing threat to coastal and inland waters. These blooms can be detected using optical radiometers due to the presence of phycocyanin (PC) pigments. The spectral resolution of best-available multispectral sensors limits their ability to diagnostically detect PC in the presence of other photosynthetic p...

Envisat’s MERIS and its successor Sentinel OLCI have proven invaluable for documenting algal bloom conditions in coastal and inland waters. Observations over turbid eutrophic waters, in particular, have benefited from the band at 708 nm, which captures the reflectance peak associated with intense algal blooms and is key to line-height algorithms su...

Monitoring of cyanobacterial bloom biomass in large lakes at high resolution is made possible by remote sensing. However, monitoring cyanobacterial toxins is only feasible with grab samples, which, with only sporadic sampling, results in uncertainties in the spatial distribution of toxins. To address this issue, we conducted two intensive “HABs Gra...

Total suspended solids (TSS) concentration is an important biogeochemical parameter for water quality management and sediment-transport studies. In this study, we propose a novel semi-analytical method for estimating TSS in clear to extremely turbid waters from remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs). The proposed method includes three sub-algorithms used...

Atmospheric correction over inland and coastal waters is one of the major remaining challenges in aquatic remote sensing, often hindering the quantitative retrieval of biogeochemical variables and analysis of their spatial and temporal variability within aquatic environments. The Atmospheric Correction Intercomparison Exercise (ACIX-Aqua), a joint...

Early detection and comprehensive monitoring of inland water algal blooms is fundamental to their effective management and mitigation of potential ecosystem and public health impacts. With the spatial and temporal limitations of in situ sampling, algal bloom monitoring capabilities have been enhanced greatly by advancements in satellite Earth Obser...

Following more than two decades of research and developments made possible through various proof-of-concept hyperspectral remote sensing missions, it has been anticipated that hyperspectral imaging would enhance the accuracy of remotely sensed in-water products. This study investigates such expected improvements and demonstrates the utility of hype...

Many regions of the Great Lakes now see recurring cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs), with documented repercussions for ecosystem services, public health, and ecosystem integrity. Early detection and comprehensive monitoring of cyanoHABs are fundamental to their effective management and mitigation of detrimental impacts. Satellite remo...

One of the challenging tasks in modern aquatic remote sensing is the retrieval of near-surface concentrations of Total Suspended Solids (TSS). This study aims to present a Statistical, inherent Optical property (IOP) -based, and muLti-conditional Inversion proceDure (SOLID) for enhanced retrievals of satellite-derived TSS under a wide range of in-w...

Consistent, cross-mission retrievals of near-surface concentration of chlorophyll-a (Chla) in various aquatic ecosystems with broad ranges of trophic levels have long been a complex undertaking. Here, we introduce a machine-learning model, the Mixture Density Network (MDN), that largely outperforms existing algorithms when applied across different...

Red and near-infrared line-height algorithms such as the maximum chlorophyll index (MCI) are often considered optimal for remote sensing of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) in turbid eutrophic waters, under the assumption of minimal influence from mineral sediments. This study investigated the impact of mineral turbidity on line-height algorithms using MCI as...

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have been increasing in intensity worldwide, including the western basin of Lake Erie. Substantial efforts have been made to track these blooms using in situ sampling and remote sensing. However, such measurements do not fully capture HAB spatial and temporal dynamics due to the limitations of discrete shipboard sampling...

This report describes the scientific priorities set by the Canadian Network on Coastal, Oceans and Lake Optics Remote Sensing (NetCOLOR) that aquatic visible remote sensing can address.

Harmful algal blooms have become a more significant issue in recent years in many lakes and rivers, and it is a particularly significant issue in the western basin of Lake Erie. In response, several research organizations in the United States and Canada have increased their efforts to improve capabilities for the remote sensing of harmful algal blo...

Since the early 2000s Lake Erie has seen a dramatic increase in phytoplankton biomass, manifested in particular by the rise in the severity of cyanobacteria blooms and the prevalence of potentially toxic taxa such as Microcystis. Satellite remote sensing has provided a unique capacity for the synoptic detection of these blooms, enabling spatial and...

In this study, we simulate three-dimensional transport of algal blooms in Lake Erie using a combination of remote sensing and hydrodynamic modelling. The remote sensing algorithms use data from the Sentinel-3 OLCI satellite sensor to derive chlorophyll-a concentration from cyanobacteria blooms in Lake Erie. The derived chlorophyll-a concentration i...

Lake Winnipeg has experienced dramatic increases in nutrient loading and phytoplankton biomass over the last few decades, accompanied by a marked shift in community composition towards the dominance of cyanobacteria. Comprehensive lake-wide observations of algal blooms are critical to assessing the lake's health status, its response to nutrient man...

Matchup analyses of satellite-derived multispectral remote sensing reflectance ( R r s ) products using the ocean color component of the aerosol robotic network (AERONET-OC) is now common practice. Robust matchup analyses are crucial in consistent monitoring of ocean and coastal/inland waters. Differences in the spectral bands of various multispect...

Inland and coastal waterbodies are critical components of the global biosphere. Timely monitoring is necessary to enhance our understanding of their functions, the drivers impacting on these functions and to deliver more effective management. The ability to observe waterbodies from space has led to Earth observation (EO) becoming established as an...

Mid-winter limnological surveys of Lake Erie captured extremes in ice extent ranging from expansive ice cover in 2010 and 2011 to nearly ice-free waters in 2012. Consistent with a warming climate, ice cover on the Great Lakes is in decline, thus the ice-free condition encountered may foreshadow the lakes future winter state. Here we show that prono...

Water clarity in North America's Laurentian Great Lakes has undergone considerable change over the last several decades as a consequence of invasive species, eutrophication, and implemented nutrient management practices. Satellite observations from the CZCS, SeaWiFS, and MODIS-Aqua sensors have been used in tandem with long term records of Secchi d...

Satellite remote sensing methods adopting wavelengths in the red and near infra-red have been shown to be superior to the standard blue to green ratio based approaches in the detection of algal blooms under turbid, eutrophic conditions. Here, the MERIS Maximum Chlorophyll Index (MCI) has been explored as a tool for monitoring algal blooms in North...

Recent observations have confirmed the presence of dense accumulations of the diatom Aulacoseira islandica within surface lake ice on Lake Erie. MERIS (Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) full-resolution satellite imagery is shown to clearly distinguish the optical signature of these phytoplankton blooms. The MERIS Level 1 maximum chlorophyll i...

Satellite-derived estimates of chlorophyll concentrations based on colour ratio algorithms traditionally fail in turbid waters such as those found in Lake Erie, resulting in chlorophyll concentrations often orders of magnitude in error and spatial distributions mirroring that of known suspended sediment distributions. Methods are presented here tha...

Ecosystem Objective Water clarity is an important supporting element in assessing the ecological status of a water body through its direct linkages to ecosystem processes. These processes include, but are not limited to defining the photic depth within which photosynthesis is possible, defining light availability to benthic communities, and monitor...

The MERIS (MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) maximum chlorophyll index was applied to Lake of the Woods, an inland water body under significant water quality pressure from recurring cyanobacteria blooms, in order to address the commonly raised concern that blooms on the lake have increased recently. Recent trends in bloom characteristics (int...

This paper explores the use of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer MODIS wavebands in the red/near-infra-red for estimating concentrations of suspended particulate matter SPM in the moderately turbid, optically complex waters of Lake Erie. Observations show that at wavelengths shorter than 550 nm, more than 50% of the absorption signal is...

Satellite observations of aquatic colour enable environmental monitoring of the Great Lakes at spatial and temporal scales not obtainable through ground-based monitoring. By merging data from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) and the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), monthly binned images of water-leaving radiance over the Great...

Spectral absorption properties of particulate and dissolved matter were determined for Lake Erie waters in order to investigate the natural variability of the absorption coefficients required as inputs to optical models for converting satellite observations of water colour into water quality information. Particulate absorption measured using the qu...

A two-dimensional model has been developed in order to improve understanding of the processes which interact to maintain the sediment concentrations at an isolated turbidity maximum in the Irish Sea throughout the year. The model comprises two interchangeable populations of particles with different diameters, one of fine cohesive material, the othe...

A method is described for estimating near surface suspended particle size over whole shelf regions using visible band satellite data. The technique can be applied to the mainly mineral, flocculated particles commonly found in tidally mixed shelf seas and estuaries. It is based on estimating light scattering per unit concentration (b∗) from simultan...

Small mineral particles suspended in the sea are excellent at reflecting light and show up well in visible band satellite images. In order to make quantitative estimates of the particle concentration, and its effect on the penetration of sunlight into the sea, it is necessary to know how the absorption, scattering and backscattering coefficients of...

This study investigates the use of single-band reflectance at visible wavelengths for the derivation of suspended sediment concentrations in the Irish Sea. A reasonably strong relationship was observed between irradiance reflectance at 665 nm (R665) and mineral suspended sediment (MSS) concentrations. Variability in the Reflectance–MSS relationship...

A study was conducted in the Irish Sea with the aim of deriving an algorithm for the retrieval of suspended sediment concentrations from ocean colour imagery obtained from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). In situ observations of the diffuse attenuation coefficient, Kd, and irradiance reflectance, R, were obtained at wavelengths...

This paper describes a novel method of deriving surface salinity from remotely sensed ocean colour. The method is based on two important observations of optical properties in regions of freshwater influence (ROFI). The first is the strong effect that a form of dissolved organic matter (yellow substance) has on ocean colour when present in relativel...