Using NASA's Ocean Color Sensors to Identify Effects of Watershed Development and Climate Change on Coastal Marine Ecosystems of the US Virgin Islands

This project proposes a scientific partnership between the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), the College of Charleston (CofC), Kent State University (KSU) and NASA’s Ames Research Center (ARC). We propose to quantify the relationship between observations of water optical properties by high resolution Visible and Near - Infrared (VNIR) sensors aboard NASA’s space vehicles and Optically Active Constituents (OACs) measured in situ on coral reefs. This relationship will be tested against long-term records and targeted assessments of coral health in order to identify potential water quality stressors on coral reef ecosystem health. Our project goals are directly relevant to NASA Strategic Goals and Objectives 2.2 “Advance Earth system science to meet the challenges of climate and environmental change”. The shallow, clear waters of tropical regions of the world support the photosynthesizing microalgae that live symbiotically within reef-building coral animal tissues. This symbiosis allows for the growth of the coral skeleton and therefore serves as the basis for the development of complex reef structures, providing coastline protection from wave action and supporting nursery grounds for fisheries. This symbiosis is disrupted by thermal stress resulting in coral bleaching and coral mortality, with extreme thermal events contributing to a shift from coral to macro-algal dominated states in Caribbean. Water quality decline from urbanization may be compounding these effects and/or hindering recovery from mass bleaching events. Coral reefs have low tolerances to changes in nutrient, sediment, and phytoplankton concentrations. These changes have been shown to cause a range of physiological and ecological impacts to coral reefs and studies suggest the need for more effective monitoring protocols. Current assessment methods of water quality are based on in situ measurements. Although these measurements provide good background data, they are labor intensive, costly and lack the spatial and temporal coverage needed to better understand changes in such a highly dynamic environment. Remote Sensing (RS) technology can provide timely and spatially explicit information regarding changes in the aquatic systems once the data is calibrated using in situ measurements. This capability can further provide possibilities for early warning of detrimental ecosystem changes and can set inputs into decisions about management and mitigation of negative effects. Application of RS techniques in the coastal waters of the US Virgin Islands (USVI) is primitive and to date no bio-optical models have been applied that can accurately characterize local biochemical processes. We will develop regionally tiered and calibrated models for assessment of water quality by more accurately determining the VNIR RS signatures. The role of water quality in influencing coral health outcomes during and after mass bleaching events will be assessed using water quality metrics acquired from RS integrated with records of coral reef thermal histories, bleaching, and mortality, as well as results of targeted assessments of coral health across sites exposed to a known range of water quality. This research is extremely important in the US Virgin Islands where coral reef-dependent tourism is the primary driver of the economy and declines in reef related services would have significant economic impacts. The educational plan of our program will inspire students to become engaged in learning about water quality and its impact on coral reef ecosystems through interactive, field and laboratory-based activities including satellite image data processing and data analysis techniques that directly address and support NASA’s education goal 2.4 “Advance the Nation’s STEM education and workforce pipeline.” This objective also ties in with Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education directives, with a focus on underrepresented minorities.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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