POSTER Session 3

MAPPING THE EXTENT AND HEALTH OF SEAGRASS IN EXPOSED AND SHELTERED ENVIRONMENTS

Seagrass can be found in hydrodynamic environments that vary from highly exposed to sheltered, impacting sediment transport alongside local rates of sediment resuspension. Research is being carried out within the SwedCoast-BlueCarb project studying populations around the Swedish coast, funded jointly by the Swedish National Space Agency and UK Space Agency, and the UKRI Science and Technology Facilities Council funded Vis4Sea joint UK/Australia project that focuses on the impacts of flooding on coastal water quality that’s mapping seagrass within Plymouth Sound / Tamar estuary in the UK and potentially also the Fitzroy River in Australia. An overlapping aim of both projects includes applying Copernicus Sentinel-2 data to map the seagrass extent with associated uncertainties where the seagrass populations exist at a detectable depth/reside on exposed mud flats. Also, particularly where submerged, the aim is to understand the water’s optical status, which can impact light availability and health, with Sentinel-3 where possible. We will also use hyperspectral data from missions like PRISMA and WorldView-3 alongside airborne CASI flights. Initial work focused on consistently processing the satellite/airborne datasets and collating in-situ data from divers, field campaigns and UAV overflights. The next stage is developing a Machine Learning model that, based on surface reflectance, concurrently derives the optical properties and submerged vegetation. Ultimately, an automated processing system will provide products openly online within a GIS-style portal, with an initial version for stakeholder feedback at the end of 2024.

Samantha Lavender, Pixalytics Ltd, United Kingdom, [email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5181-9425

Susanne Kratzer, Stockholm University, Sweden, [email protected]

Gavin Tilstone, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, United Kingdom, [email protected]

Code of Conduct
Privacy Policy