Regional Satellite Algorithms to Estimate Chlorophyll-a and Total Suspended Matter Concentrations in Vembanad Lake

A growing coastal population is leading to increased anthropogenic pollution that greatly affects coastal and inland water bodies, especially in the tropics. The Sustainable Development Goal-14, ‘Life below water’ emphasises the importance of conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and its resources. Pollution management practices often include monitoring of water quality using in situ observations of chlorophyll-a (chl-a) and total suspended matter (TSM). Satellite technology, including the MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) sensor onboard Sentinel-2, enables the continuous monitoring of these variables in inland waters at high spatial and temporal resolutions. To improve the monitoring of water quality in the tropical Vembanad-Kol-Wetland (VKW) system, situated on the southwest coast of India, we present two regionally tuned satellite algorithms developed to estimate chl-a and TSM concentrations. The new algorithms estimate the chl-a and TSM concentrations from the simulated reflectance values as a function of the inherent optical properties using a forward modelling approach. The model was parameterised using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) bio-Optical Marine Algorithm Dataset (NOMAD) and in situ measurements collected in the VKW system. To assess model performance, results were compared with in situ measurements of chl-a and TSM and other existing satellite-based models of chl-a and TSM. For satellite application, two different atmospheric correction methods (ACOLITE and POLYMER) were tested and satellite matchups were used to validate the new chl-a and TSM algorithms following standard validation procedures. The results demonstrated that the new algorithms were in good agreement with in situ observations and outperform existing chl-a and TSM algorithms. The new regional satellite algorithms can be used to monitor water quality within the VKW system to support the sustainable management under natural (cyclones, floods, rainfall, and tsunami) and anthropogenic pressures (industrial effluents, agricultural practices, recreational activities, construction, and demolishing concrete structures) and help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 14.