POSTER Session 1

Assessing PRISMA performance for water quality retrievals in Lake Erie

North America’s Lake Erie holds significant socio-economic value. However, persistent phytoplankton blooms occurring in its western basin, dominated by potentially toxin-producing cyanobacteria, emphasize the critical need for regular water quality monitoring. Hyperspectral satellite data is invaluable for accurately assessing water quality variables such as phytoplankton (chlorophyll-a), sediments, and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) within inland waters. It also offers promise in detecting cyanobacterial blooms (via phycocyanin absorption) and distinguishing phytoplankton classes using specific wavelengths not available in multispectral data. This study evaluates the performance of the Italian Space Agency’s hyperspectral PRISMA data compared to the European Space Agency’s multispectral Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) onboard Sentinel-3. The evaluation was based on estimated signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR), radiance/reflectance at top- and bottom-of-atmosphere, and retrievals of water quality variables. The comparison included level-2 data processed with ACOLITE and official level-2 products (OLCI’s WFR and PRISMA’s L2C). PRISMA’s L1 TOA radiance products were in good agreement with OLCI, however notable differences in L2 reflectance products were observed after atmospheric correction. An existing mixture density network (MDN) model was applied for water quality estimation and retrieval accuracies were analyzed with respect to in situ observations. MDN retrievals indicated that PRISMA performance was similar to OLCI in quantifying chlorophyll-a, phycocyanin, and total suspended solids. However, atmospheric correction and noise in PRISMA’s shorter bands introduced notable errors in CDOM retrievals. These findings will inform recommendations to the Canadian Space Agency for developing hyperspectral sensors tailored for monitoring coastal and inland water quality.

Caren Binding, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Canada

Varunan Theenathayalan, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Canada

Liam Flannigan, McMaster University, Canada

Nima Pahlevan, NASA, USA

Geneviève Gariépy, Canadian Space Agency, Canada

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