Tracking Land-derived Pollution by Satellite in Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

Large, high chlorophyll plumes are visible on satellite imagery in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, especially along the Egyptian coast and off Tel Aviv, Haifa and Tyre. These large-scale features are particularly visible during spring and summer, due to the high contrast between coastal water and oligotrophic open sea. Plumes origin and dynamics are still unclear. Previous work by various authors has postulated the interplay of autochthonous (upwellings) or allochtonous (Nile coastal drift, rivers, sewage) nutrient sources inducing enhanced primary production. In this work, we attempt to follow the development of these chlorophyll plumes through a time-series of SeaWIFS satellite images, and to track their origin using Normalized Water Leaving Radiance (LNW) spectra.