Assessing the trophic state of water bodies by high-resolution remote spectrometry in visible band

Abstract

Analysis is presented of many-year spectrometric data in the visible band of electromagnetic spectrum collected for the Don R., including the Tsimlyansk Reservoir in 2010–2013 with a period of ~15 days. An algorithm has been proposed for separating spectral brightness coefficient of the rising radiation from water into six categories. A nomenclature scale of the trophic status of water bodies has been constructed. The obtained scale coincides with the nomenclature scales constructed by chlorophyll a concentration for water bodies under different physiographic conditions. The unquestioning advantage of remote sensing methods for assessing water body (WB) trophic status is emphasized, i.e., the possibility to carry out real-time studies within minutes at high representativeness of the results with respect to the examined aquatic ecosystem.