Autori: Lapucci, Chiara; Antonini, Andrea; Böhm, Emanuele; Organelli, Emanuele; Massi, Luca; Ortolani, Alberto; Brandini, Carlo; Maselli, Fabio;

Rivista: Sensors,23,22,9258,2023,MDPI

DOI: 10.3390/s23229258

Abstract

Understanding and monitoring the ecological quality of coastal waters is crucial for preserving marine ecosystems. Eutrophication is one of the major problems affecting the ecological state of coastal marine waters. For this reason, the control of the trophic conditions of aquatic ecosystems is needed for the evaluation of their ecological quality. This study leverages space-based Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Color Instrument imagery (OLCI) to assess the ecological quality of Mediterranean coastal waters using the Trophic Index (TRIX) key indicator. In particular, we explore the feasibility of coupling remote sensing and machine learning techniques to estimate the TRIX levels in the Ligurian, Tyrrhenian, and Ionian coastal regions of Italy. Our research reveals distinct geographical patterns in TRIX values across the study area, with some regions exhibiting eutrophic conditions near estuaries and others showing oligotrophic char