Variability of River Plume Signature Determined Using Satellite Images

• Published in: Journal of applied sciences (Asian Network for Scientific Information) Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 70
• Main Authors: Jabbar, A, Lihan, T, Mustapha, M A, Rahman, Z A, Rahim, S A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Backscattering; Freshwater; Marine; Monsoons; Plumes; Rainfall; Rivers; Satellites; Signatures; Pakistan, Faisalabad; ISEW, Malaysia, Malaya, Pahang
• ISSN: 1812-5654; 1812-5662
• DOI: 10.3923/jas.2013.70.78

Estuarine outflow associated with suspended matter concentrations and pollutants have a major impact on marine ecosystems. Understanding the dynamics and dispersal pattern of suspended matter from river water are important for management of coastal water quality and biological productivity. This study aimed to determine the variability of Pahang River plwne signature at the coastal area. One km spatial-resolution normalized water-leaving radiance, (nL sub( w) 551) obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Aqua satellite were analyzed from the period of 2005-2010. The plume spectral signature estimated of the backscattering coefficient nLw 551 (proxy for suspended matter) was strongly correlated with the amollllt of monthly average rainfall over the study period. The plwne signature distributions during 2005-2010 based on nL sub( w) 551 was highly variable. During northeast monsoon, the plwne tends to propagate to the south and shows the strongest plwne signature of nL sub( w) 551 value (>2.0 mW cm super( -2) mu m super( -1) sr super( -1) ) meanwhile during southwest monsoon the plwne dispersion to the north and exhibit weakest plwne signature value (<1.5 mW cm super( -2) mu m super( -1) sr super( -1) ). The variability of plwne signature was determined by the backscattering characteristics of surface waters in the region of the river mouth as a result of rainfall, wind stress and surface CWTent event.