Theses and Dissertations

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6937-3522

Advisor

Dash, Padmanava

Committee Member

Paul, Varun

Committee Member

Panda Rajendra Mohan

Date of Degree

8-13-2024

Original embargo terms

Visible MSU Only 1 year

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Campus Access Only

Major

Geoscience (Geospatial Sciences)

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Geosciences

Abstract

The Western Mississippi Sound (WMS) is home to the largest natural oyster reef in the Gulf of Mexico and contributes substantially to Mississippi's economy. In 2019, the WMS experienced an unprecedented cyanobacterial bloom that killed fish and birds and led to shut down of beaches and oyster fishery. This thesis aims to quantify cyanobacteria from uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) imagery and investigate the relative influence of river discharge into the WMS on cyanobacterial concentrations. Several field campaigns were undertaken to collect field data and UAS imagery from WMS. A remote sensing algorithm was developed to quantify the unique cyanobacterial pigment phycocyanin and generate temporal maps for cyanobacteria using UAS imagery. Correlations between the cyanobacteria maps and discharge of major freshwater sources to WMS revealed that Bonnet Carré Spillway had the largest contribution followed by discharge of Jourdan, Wolf, and Pearl rivers to the cyanobacterial concentrations over the oyster reef.

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