Remote sensing of cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Champlain, USA

The objective of this study was to develop cyanobacteria remote sensing models using Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) as an alternative to shipboard monitoring efforts in Lake Champlain. The approach allowed for estimation of cyanobacteria directly from satellite images, calibrated and validated with 4 years of in situ monitoring data from Lake Champlain's Long-Term Water Quality and Biological Monitoring Program (LTMP). The resulting stepwise regression model was applied to entire satellite images to provide distribution of cyanobacteria throughout the surface waters of Lake Champlain. The results demonstrate the utility of remote sensing for estimating the distribution of cyanobacteria in inland waters, which can be further used for presenting the initiation and propagation of cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Champlain.