MODIS-based sea surface temperature of the Baltic Sea Curonian Lagoon

Abstract This paper focuses on analysis of sea surface temperature (SST) derived from Terra/Aqua Moderate Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) infrared imagery between 2000 and 2011 to document the hydrological regime in the Baltic Sea Curonian Lagoon. Records of the daytime SST from MODIS were validated against conventional in situ observations from an oceanographic buoy in the SE Baltic and two coastal hydrographic stations in the Curonian Lagoon. In general a very good agreement between them was found with positive bias (RMSD) not higher than 0.49 °C (1.31 °C) and R 2 not less than 0.78. The MODIS-based SST data set, having a wide spatial coverage and relatively high spatial resolution enables one to study spatial, seasonal and inter-annual SST variations unavailable from sparse in situ measurements in the Curonian Lagoon. In addition satellite SST maps allow monitoring main spatio-temporal characteristics of mesoscale frontal features associated with the Curonian Lagoon coastal plume and coastal upwelling in the SE Baltic influencing coastal and lagoon ecosystems. The satellite infrared measurements and results obtained in near-shore waters in this study are unique and should be useful to researchers of near-shore water dynamics in other coastal regions of the world.

[1]  T. Soomere,et al.  Changes in wave dynamics at the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Proper during 1993-2008 , 2011 .

[2]  L. Kelpšaitė,et al.  Analysis of the Climate Change in Lithuanian Coastal Areas of the Baltic Sea , 2012 .

[3]  I. Dailidienė,et al.  Long term water level and surface temperature changes in the lagoons of the southern and eastern Baltic , 2011 .

[4]  D. Oesch,et al.  Lake surface water temperature retrieval using advanced very high resolution radiometer and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data: Validation and feasibility study , 2005 .

[5]  Shenn-Yu Chao,et al.  Wind-Driven Motion of Estuarine Plumes , 1988 .

[6]  R. Pilkaitytė,et al.  REDUCTION OF THE LAND-BASED DISCHARGES TO THE CURONIAN LAGOON IN A VIEW OF A CLIMATE CHANGE PERSPECTIVE , 2008 .

[7]  B. Håkansson,et al.  Distributions of the sea-surface temperature fronts in the Baltic Sea as derived from satellite imagery , 1995 .

[8]  K. Myrberg,et al.  Physical Oceanography of the Baltic Sea , 2009 .

[9]  C. Humborg,et al.  Second Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea Basin , 2008 .

[10]  V. Klemas,et al.  Remote Sensing of Coastal Plumes and Ocean Fronts: Overview and Case Study , 2011 .

[11]  A. Thomas,et al.  Satellite-measured temporal variability of the Columbia River plume , 2006 .

[12]  Anu Reinart,et al.  Mapping surface temperature in large lakes with MODIS data , 2008 .

[13]  Ian S. Robinson,et al.  Review Article. The sea surface thermal boundary layer and its relevance to the measurement of sea surface temperature by airborne and spaceborne radiometers , 1984 .

[14]  Discharge and transport processes along the German Baltic Sea Coast , 2005 .

[15]  S. Olenin,et al.  The Curonian Lagoon , 2008 .

[16]  Bertrand Chapron,et al.  ASAR imaging for coastal upwelling in the Baltic Sea , 2012 .

[17]  Erik T. Crosman,et al.  MODIS-derived surface temperature of the Great Salt Lake , 2009 .

[18]  P. Minnett.  Consequences of sea surface temperature variability on the validation and applications of satellite measurements , 1991 .

[19]  A. Lehmann,et al.  Detailed assessment of climate variability of the Baltic Sea area for the period 1958-2009 (solicited) , 2011 .

[20]  H. Siegel,et al.  Sea surface temperature development of the Baltic Sea in the period 1990-2004 , 2006 .

[21]  C. Donlon,et al.  Toward Improved Validation of Satellite Sea Surface Skin Temperature Measurements for Climate Research , 2002 .