ESTIMATION OF CHLOROPHYLL-A CONCENTRATION IN LAGUNA DE BAY USING SENTINEL-3 SATELLITE DATA

Abstract. The mission of the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-3 satellite is to provide data for land and ocean monitoring purposes. Sentinel- 3’s Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) data are being used largely for monitoring offshore and coastal waters but can also be used for inland waters including lakes. It has a spatial resolution of 300 meters, a temporal resolution of 2–3 days and contains 21 spectral bands. Laguna de Bay, with a surface area of around 930 km², suffers from periodic algal blooms resulting from excessive nutrient inputs from surrounding watersheds. This study aims to assess the applicability of Sentinel-3 OLCI for estimating chlorophylla (chl-a) concentration in Laguna Lake. Several chl-a estimation algorithms (i.e., band ratios and indices) were tested for Sentinel 3 OLCI images and compared with in-situ data obtained using a chl-a sensor. A regression model comprising of individual spectral bands, band ratios, and band indices for chl-a estimation as independent variables was developed, yielding an adjusted R² of 0.759 and RMSE of 1.19 ug/L. The model consists of R620, R674/R708, and RED/NIR. A map was produced showing the spatial distribution of chl-a in Laguna Lake, with most of the portion of the lake having a concentration ranging from 7.5 ug/L to 15 ug/L. This shows that Sentinel 3 OLCI images can be utilized for accurately estimating chl-a in Laguna Lake.