Chlorophyll-a estimation in New Jersey's coastal waters using Thematic Mapper data

Eutrophication, or enrichment, of the natural water in New Jersey's coastal waters has an adverse impact on the economic welfare of the state. Since shipboard sampling is not cost-effective for providing data on coastal'estuarine water processes and materials, satellite remote sensing, with its synoptic and repetitive coverage, is used to obtain some of the data for eutrophication-related water quality analysis. For the purpose of this study, existing Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper digital data, acquired on 1 September 1985, along with the sea truth observations, were obtained for quantitative analysis, The goal was to establish a correlation between total plankton content and remote sensing signals indicating the relative degree of eutrophy and productivity in New Jersey's coastal waters.