Application of a generalized additive model (GAM) for estimating chlorophyll-a concentration from MODIS data in the Bohai and Yellow Seas, China

ABSTRACT

In optically complex waters, it is important to evaluate the accuracy of the standard satellite chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration algorithms, and to develop accurate algorithms for monitoring the dynamics of chl-a concentration. In this study, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite remote-sensing reflectance and concurrent in situ measured chl-a (2010–2013) were used to evaluate the standard OC3M algorithm (ocean chlorophyll-a three-band algorithm for MODIS) and Graver–Siegel–Maritorena model version 1 (GSM01) algorithm for estimating chl-a concentration in the Bohai and Yellow Seas (BYS). The results showed that the chl-a algorithms of OC3M and GSM01 with global default parameters presented poor performance in the BYS (the mean absolute percentage difference (MAPD) and coefficient of determination (R²) of OC3M are 222.27% and 0.25, respectively; the MAPD and R² of GSM01 are 118.08% and 0.07, respectively). A novel statistical algorithm based on the generalized additive model (GAM) was developed, with the aim of improving the satellite-derived chl-a accuracy. The GAM algorithm was established using the in situ measured chl-a concentration as the output variable, and the MODIS above water remote-sensing reflectance (visible bands at 412, 443, 469, 488, 531, 547, 555, 645, 667, and 678 nm) and bathymetry (water depth) as input variables. The MAPD and R² calculated between the GAM and the in situ chl-a concentration are 39.96% and 0.67, respectively. The results suggest that the GAM algorithm can yield a superior performance in deriving chl-a concentrations relative to the standard OC3M and GSM01 algorithms in the BYS.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the Ocean Biology Processing Group of NASA for providing the MODIS data set (http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [41376121]; the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [XDA11020405]; and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province [JQ201414].