| The phytoplankton abundance indicated by chlorophyll concentrations is a key indicator of the Kuwait's aquatic environmental sustainability, the primary productive environment of Kuwait. Unfortunately, there is little information about the spatial and temporal phytoplankton variations in the waters of Kuwait. This study, therefore, evaluates the effectiveness of using the chlorophyll algorithm derived from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellites as a methodology for detecting the temporal and spatial chlorophyll variations in the waters of Kuwait. Chlorophyll measurements collected monthly between January 2000 and November 2004 by the Kuwaiti Environmental Public Authority (EPA) at 13 sites in Kuwait's waters were used to estimate the chlorophyll algorithm. The measured chlorophyll concentrations in Kuwait Bay that exceeded 2.0 mg m-3 had good matches with satellite data, whereas in the southern coastal area, all chlorophyll concentrations exceeding 1.20 mg m-3 had a good relationship with the chlorophyll algorithm... |
