Alert System for Algae Bloom Detection in Inland Waters of Latin America: An Ongoing Project

Abstract

In a collaboration of several institutions and organizations, this project proposes the use of Google Earth Engine (GEE) to map algae bloom over the main water bodies and reservoirs in LA using Sentinel-2 imagery (2015 to present). The proposed methodology of using Normalized Difference Chlorophyll Index (NDCI) for chlorophyll-a, and TSI detection shown to be very promising. NDCI responds well to high levels of chlorophyll-a and, therefore, can be used as an indicator for algae blooms. The image processing as well as the display of maps and charts are being implemented into a GEE App to be freely available for general public use.