ABSTRACT
Eutrophication is a main concern in many coastal environments. About 65% of United States estuaries have moderate to high eutrophic conditions (Bricker et al. 1999; NOAA 2011); the most eutrophic estuaries are in the Gulf of Mexico (NOAA 2011). Nutrients are normally the key triggers of eutrophication, which can result in žsh kills, loss of habitats, toxic algae blooms, commercially unproductive aquaculture, public health concerns, and loss of water resources (Figure 7.1). The primary and secondary symptoms are intimately tied with each other in response to
7.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 123 7.1.1 General Background ......................................................................... 123 7.1.2 Geographical Environment ...............................................................124 7.1.3 Water Quality Conditions and Study Objectives .............................. 126
7.2 Materials and Methods ................................................................................. 133 7.2.1 Field Measurements, Data Collection, and Analysis ........................ 133 7.2.2 Remote Sensing Images .................................................................... 135
7.3 Results and Discussion ................................................................................. 140 7.3.1 Water Quality and Algal Biomass Analysis ..................................... 140 7.3.2 Remote Sensing-Based GP Model ................................................... 141
7.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 143 Acknowledgment ................................................................................................... 144 References .............................................................................................................. 144
the changing nitrogen and phosphorus loadings in aquatic environments. They cohesively lead to the changes of submerged aquatic vegetation and macrophyteepiphyte-phytoplankton community structures that eventually would cause the changes of ecosystem balance.
