Chapter Mapping submerged vegetation and water quality using multi- and hyperspectral imagery of Oristano Gulf (Italy)

Abstract

Shallow water habitats are among the most important and productive ecosystems on the planet. These ecosystems, which include seagrass meadows, are important biodiversity hotspots. The spread of seagrass can be managed by looking at the seabed cover and how it changes over the year. To this end, satellite-derived products of substrate and vegetation cover at different spatio-temporal resolutions can help water managers and users to better understand and manage seagrass beds in shallow waters (Kutser et al., 2022). The main objective of this study is to test and apply algorithms to obtain bottom substrate, canopy cover together with water quality maps (e.g. SPM, Chl-a) from hyperspectral (e.g. PRISMA) and multispectral (e.g. Sentinel-2) satellite data. The study is developed in the framework of the PRISMA SCIENZA OVERSEE project and focuses on the coastal areas of the Gulf of Oristano (Sardinia, Italy). Changes in substrate cover have been tracked for the period May-October 2022. Spatio-temporal variability of Posidonia oceanica has been studied and discussed in relation to environmental features and human activities.