Remote Sensing Detection of Algal Blooms in a Lake Impacted by Petroleum Hydrocarbons

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to combine all available information on the state of Lake Pertusillo (Basilicata, Italy), both in the field and published, which included Sentinel-2A satellite data, to understand algal blooms in a lacustrine environment impacted by petroleum hydrocarbons. Sentinel-2A data was retrospectively used to monitor the state of the lake, which is located near the largest land-based oil extraction plant in Europe, with particular attention to chlorophyll a during algal blooms and petroleum hydrocarbons. In winter 2017, a massive dinoflagellate bloom (10.4 × 106 cell/L) of Peridinium umbonatum and a simultaneous presence of hydrocarbons were observed at the lake surface. Furthermore, a recent study using metagenomic analyses carried out three months later identified a hydrocarbonoclastic microbial community specialized in the degradation aromatic and nitroaromatic hydrocarbons. In this study, Sentinel-2A imagery was able to detect the presence of chlorophyll a in the waters, while successfully distinguishing the signal from that of hydrocarbons. Remotely sensed results confirmed surface reference measurements of lacustrine phytoplankton, chlorophyll a, and the presence of hydrocarbons during algal blooms, thereby explaining the presence of the hydrocarbonoclastic microbial community found in the lake three months after the oil spill event. The combination of emerging methodologies such as satellite systems and metagenomics represent an important support methodology for describing complex contaminations in diverse ecosystems.

Analysing Spatiotemporal Variability of Chlorophyll-a Concentration and Water Surface Temperature in Coastal Lagoons of the Ebro Delta (NW Mediterranean Sea, Spain)

“…Understanding the complex interplay of the factors controlling the variability of the environmental parameters investigated in this work is essential for the effective management and conservation of these coastal lagoons and others. For instance, comprehending the factors causing the fluctuation of these parameters is highly relevant to detecting blooms potentially toxic to humans as well as mussel farms present in the area, and to evaluating possible health effects [21].…”

“…So much so that their use has progressively increased in the last decades, yielding very promising results that prove their suitability for a wide range of environmental applications [17]. The previous include water quality monitoring in continental lakes and reservoirs [18][19][20][21], as well as coastal waters [22,23], evaluating the suitability of coastal areas for fisheries and aquaculture [24,25], characterisation and mapping of a variety of coastal habitats and their changes [26][27][28][29][30], or even the surveillance of harmful coastal algal blooms [31,32]. Furthermore, these techniques have also allowed assessing the impact of extreme storm events on water quality and flooding [14,33], measuring human impact on water transparency [34], or assessing the impact of meteorological freshwater episodes and winds on water temperature and Chl-a concentration in coastal lagoons [9], among many others.…”

Carotenoids; a unique biomarker for monitoring Peridinium dinoflagellate blooms in freshwaters

“…For instance, blooms caused by P. bipes in Japan (Yoshikawa et al 1997) and Taiwan (Wu and Chou 1998), P. gatunense in Israel (Pollingher and Hickel 1991), P. limbatum in Canada (Yan and Stokes 1978) and P. willei in USA (Stewart and Blinn 1976). More incidents were reported recently from countries like Australia (Regel, Brookes, & Ganf, 2004), China (Sun et al 2008) and Italy (Laneve et al 2021). Massive sh death is one of the main consequences of dino agellate blooms.…”

Eutrophication and HAB Occurrence Control in Lakes of Different Origins: A Multi-Source Remote Sensing Detection Strategy

“…Remote Sens. 2024, 16, 1792 2 of 15 Moreover, Sentinel-2 has been utilized for identifying oil spills in both marine and freshwater settings [10,11], and several similar studies with other optical sensors are available, too [12][13][14].…”