WRRC 2025 Spring Seminar

Monitoring Water Quality in Coastal Areas Using New Technologies in Field Instrumentation and Satellite Remote Sensing

by Dr. William J Hernández

Coral reefs and their associated mangroves and seagrass environments are among the world’s most at risk ecosystems due to increasing exposure to terrestrial runoff, which carry sediments, nutrients and pollutants, and rising ocean temperatures. Recent advances and accessibility of remote sensing and field tools such as autonomous surface vehicles with high dynamic range optical and acoustic sensors, and legacy moderate and very high-resolution satellite sensors, can provide an ideal opportunity to study changes in water quality of aquatic ecosystems at spatial scales from cm to km. Also, remote sensing can readily be used to map water quality indicators, such as total suspended sediments (TSS), chlorophyll-a concentrations (Chl-a) and downwelling light attenuation coefficients (Kd) in coastal waters. These water quality indicators, in addition to sea surface temperature (SST), can be monitored with remote sensing and in situ sensors in coastal waters to determine coral reef exposure vectors from terrestrial stressors. This talk will discuss current work in Puerto Rico combining these technologies to provide a better understanding of these dynamic ecosystems.

Register for meeting:

https://hawaii.zoom.us/meeting/register/TaRuEt4PTa-jyRWlfwpAKQ

More Information
Chris Shuler, 8087229785, cshuler@hawaii.edu

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