Kratzer, S.; Allart, M. Links between Land Cover and In-Water Optical Properties in Four Optically Contrasting Swedish Bays. Remote Sens.2024, 16, 176.
Kratzer, S.; Allart, M. Links between Land Cover and In-Water Optical Properties in Four Optically Contrasting Swedish Bays. Remote Sens. 2024, 16, 176.
Kratzer, S.; Allart, M. Links between Land Cover and In-Water Optical Properties in Four Optically Contrasting Swedish Bays. Remote Sens.2024, 16, 176.
Kratzer, S.; Allart, M. Links between Land Cover and In-Water Optical Properties in Four Optically Contrasting Swedish Bays. Remote Sens. 2024, 16, 176.
Abstract
The optical complexity of coastal waters is mostly caused by the water discharged from land carrying optical components (such as dissolved and particulate matter) into coastal bays and estuaries, and increasing the attenuation of light. This paper aims to investigate the links between in-water optical properties in four Swedish bays (from the northern Baltic proper up to the Bothnian bay) and the land use and land cover (LULC) and the hydrology in the respective catchment of each bay. The optical properties were measured in situ over the last two decades by various research and monitoring groups while the LULC in each bay was classified using the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service based on Landsat 8 and Sentinel-3 data. The absorption coefficient of coloured dissolve organic matter at 440 nm, aCDOM (440), and its spectral slope factor, SCDOM, were mostly correlated to natural land cover classes (Wetland, Meadow) acting as sources of CDOM, while Agricultural and Urban classes seem to act as sinks. The Agricultural class was also found to be a sink for suspended particulate organic matter (SPOM) whilst Coniferous and Mixed Forests as well as Meadows acted as a sources. SPOM seems to mostly originate from Natural classes, possibly due to the release of pollen and other organic matter. Overall, the methods applied here allow for a better understanding of effects of land used and land cover on the bio-optical properties, and thus coastal water quality, on a macroscopic scale.
Keywords
Land Use and Land Cover (LULC); in-water optical properties; bio-optics; suspended particulate matter; coloured dissolved organic matter; chlorophyll-a; catchment area; water discharge; land-sea interactions.
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Environmental Science
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
