Feasibility of airborne imaging spectrometry for lake monitoring—a case study of spatial chlorophyll <i>a</i> distribution in two meso-eutrophic lakes

Abstract The spatial distribution of the sum of chlorophyll a and phaeophytin a concentrations (chl-a) under light wind (0–2 m s−1) conditions was studied in two lakes with an AISA airborne imaging spectrometer. Chl-a was interpreted from AISA radiance data using an algorithm based on the near-infrared (700–710 nm) to red (660–665 nm) ratio. The results of Lake Lohjanjärvi demonstrate that the use of one monitoring station can result in over- or underestimation by 29–34% of the overall chl-a compared with an AISA-based estimation. In Lake Hiidenvesi, the AISA-based estimation for the mean chl-a with 95% confidence limits was 25.19±2.18 µg l−1. The use of AISA data together with chl-a measured at 15 in situ sampling stations decreased the relative standard error of the mean chl-a estimation from 20.2% to 4.0% compared with the use of 15 discrete samples only. The relative standard error of the mean chl-a using concentrations at the three routine monitoring stations was 15.9 µg l−1 (63.1%). The minimum and maximum chl-a in Lake Hiidenvesi were 2 and 101 µg l−1, 6 and 70 µg l−1 and 11 and 66 µmg l−1, estimated using AISA data, data from 15 in situ stations and data from three routine in situ stations, respectively.