Assessing the use of high resolution Planet satellite data to improve Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) forecasts in coastal systems (Silver Spring, MD)

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) pose a risk to human and ecological health in waterbodies around the US. In coastal and estuarine waters, these blooms are patchy, and change their extent hourly to daily, often occurring in small tributaries and near shorelines. Current technology used operationally to monitor and forecast HABs at NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) have included satellite ocean color imagery from the 300 m spatial resolution Ocean Land Colour Instrument (OLCI). While these daily images have been useful in initiating HAB forecast models, they often cannot delineate the patchiness of algal blooms, or have the resolution to detect blooms along the shore where recreational beaches, drinking water intakes, and aquaculture farms may reside. With the release of Planet SuperDove data, which are 20 m in spatial resolution and provided almost daily in most locations, it is possible to improve the initiation of HAB Forecasting models and provide more accurate forecasts of bloom transport and extent. This project will help a prospective student gain skills on the processing of Planet SuperDove data for blooms in Chesapeake Bay, which have an impact on commercial shellfish species. The goal of the project is to create a pipeline for processing Planet data, and staging it for use in a demonstration forecast system for the lower Chesapeake Bay. The prospective student will then compare forecasts with the higher resolution satellite data, to those run with the coarser OLCI imagery as input. This research will provide important guidance into the use of Planet imagery for operational HAB forecasting in the region.