Decadal changes in SeaWiFS-derived water clarity and seagrass coverage in Tampa Bay, Florida

Zhiqiang Chen, College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, zchen@marine.usf.edu (Presenting)
Chuanmin Hu, College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, hu@marine.usf.edu
Frank Muller-Karger, School for Marine Science and Technology, University Massachusetts Dartmouth, fmullerkarger@umassd.edu

Seagrass growth requires adequate ambient light, and therefore depends on high water clarity. To avoid the under-sampling problem by traditional field surveys, we investigated decadal variations in secchi disc depth (SDD) and seagrass coverage in Tampa Bay using SeaWiFS observations and aerial photographs, respectively. First, diffuse light attenuation coefficient at 490 (Kd(490)) was estimated using a semi-analytical algorithm, and then converted to SDD using an empirical relationship between Kd(490) and in situ SDD measurements (SDD=1.04Kd(490)-0.82, 0.9