In-water light attenuation and remote sensing of coastal waters and riverine ecosystems

本申请请求支持我在沿海水域和河流生态系统遥感方面的研究项目，重点关注三个相关主题：(I)水中光谱光场、水中光学成分和水面反射率之间的关系；(Ii)开发基于卫星的光学模型，以量化水生生态系统中的有机和无机物；以及(Iii)热带湿地的碳库和水动力学。在光学复杂的沿岸和河流水域，浮游植物不仅会衰减光线，这也是由于溶解的有机和悬浮无机物(它们统称为光学水成分)造成的。这些成分的不同组合使这些水域变得复杂，因此很难使用卫星图像来估计它们的浓度。光如何被不同的成分衰减，以及可用光的强度和光谱质量如何影响成分的分布，这些都是我的计划在世界不同地区研究的重要问题。我正在研究两个具有全球重要性的生态系统：以加拿大西海岸的格鲁吉亚海峡为代表的沿海系统；以及以巴西的亚马逊河为代表的河流系统。拟议的研究结果将增进我们对浮游植物分布和生产力、水体分层、水质、水生态以及土地利用对滨海和河流生态系统的影响等水生过程的了解。申请的资金将主要用于支持一名博士生和两名硕士研究生，以及一些实地考察、分析和实验室用品。

This application requests support for my research program in the remote sensing of coastal waters and riverine ecosystems, with a focus on three related topics: (i) relationships between the in-water spectral light field, water optical constituents, and water surface reflectance; (ii) development of satellite-based optical models to quantify organic and inorganic matter in aquatic ecosystems; and (iii) carbon reservoirs and hydrodynamics of tropical wetlands. In optically complex costal and riverine waters, not only phytoplankton attenuates light, this also occurs due to dissolved organic and suspended inorganic matter (all together they are referred to as optical water constituents). The varying mix of these constituents makes these waters complex and therefore it is difficult to use satellite imagery to estimate concentrations of them. How light is attenuated by different constituents and how the intensity and spectral quality of available light affects the distribution of the constituents are important questions that my program is researching in different regions of the world. I am studying two globally important ecosystems: coastal systems represented by the Strait of Georgia on the west coast of Canada; and riverine systems represented by the Amazonian rivers in Brazil. The results of the proposed research will improve our understanding of aquatic processes such as phytoplankton distribution and productivity, water stratification, water quality, aquatic ecology, and impacts of land use on costal and riverine ecosystems. The requested funds will dominantly support one PhD and two MSc students, as well as some of the fieldwork, analysis, and lab supplies.