title: Sargassum coverage in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico during 2010 from Landsat and airborne observations: Implications for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impact assessment.
abstract: Using high-resolution airborne measurements and more synoptic coverage of Landsat measurements, we estimated the total Sargassum coverage in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico (NE GOM) during 2010, with the ultimate purpose to infer how much Sargassum might have been in contact with oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Mean Sargassum coverage during the four quarters of 2010 for the study region was estimated to range from ~3148±2355km(2) during January-March to ~7584±2532km(2) during July-September (95% confidence intervals) while estimated Sargassum coverage within the integrated oil footprint ranged from 1296±453km(2) (for areas with >5% thick oil) to 736±257km(2) (for areas with >10% thick oil). Similar to previous studies on estimating Sargassum coverage, a direct validation of such estimates is impossible given the heterogeneity and scarcity of Sargassum occurrence. Nonetheless, these estimates provide preliminary information to understand relative Sargassum abundance in the NE GOM.
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140 Seventh Avenue, South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA. Electronic address: huc@usf.edu.
authors.forename: Chuanmin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, 100 Eighth Avenue SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.affiliation: Industrial Economics, Incorporated, 2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruder
authors.affiliation: Industrial Economics, Incorporated, 2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140, USA.
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Geggel
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140 Seventh Avenue, South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA.
authors.forename: Lian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, 5871 USA Drive North Mobile, AL 36688, USA.
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Powers
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, 703 East Beach Drive, Ocean Springs, MS 39564, USA.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hernandez
authors.affiliation: NOAA Office of Response & Restoration, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115, USA.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Graettinger
authors.affiliation: NOAA Office of Response & Restoration, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115, USA.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bodnar
authors.affiliation: Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc., 200 S. Second Street, Laramie, WY 82070, USA.
authors.forename: Trent
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: McDonald
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D060851:Gulf of America; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D044647:Sargassum
keywords: AVIRIS; Deepwater Horizon; Gulf of Mexico; Landsat; Remote sensing; Sargassum