Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Dash, Padmanava

Committee Member

Mercer, Andrew E.

Committee Member

Paul, Varun G.

Committee Member

Clary, Renee M.

Committee Member

Travis, Rick

Date of Degree

8-9-2019

Original embargo terms

Visbile to MSU only for 2 years

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Geosciences

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Geosciences

Abstract

Oyster reefs in the western Mississippi Sound (WMS) are dependent on the salinity moderation by freshwater input. However, freshwater brings in high amount of pollutants, which affect the oysters negatively. Oyster diebacks happened as a result of hypoxia caused by excessive organic matter input to WMS in summer 2017. Colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is widely used as a proxy for determining organic matter distribution. In this study, hyperspectral and multispectral remote sensing data collected using unmanned aerial systems and in situ CDOM data were used to develop algorithms in order to retrieve CDOM remotely. Collected physical and biogeochemical parameters were used to understand the carbon fluxes regulating the quality and quantity of CDOM. Developed algorithms showed high accuracy after accounting for seasonal variations of CDOM. Further, seasonal induced photodegradation, photosynthesis, calcification, and exchange of CO2 were identified as possible factors that affect the carbon dynamics in the study area.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/14547

Comments

biogeochemistry||coastal waters||colored dissolved organic matter||Gulf of Mexico||remote sensing algorithms||water quality

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