Vázquez Albelo, Lorenna

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    Relationship between total suspended sediments as measured with remote sensing and in situ Enterococcus bacteria in a tropical environment
    (2018-05) Vázquez Albelo, Lorenna; Gilbes Santaella, Fernando; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Armstrong, Roy; Ramírez Martínez, Wilson R.; Rodríguez Iglesias, Lizzette A.; Department of Geology; Ríos Hernández, Luis
    Coastal states and territories of the United States are required by the Environmental Protection Agency to test coastal waters for Fecal Indicator Bacteria (FIB) that can indicate the possible presence of pathogens, to protect the health of swimmers. This study presents the possible relation between Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and FIB concentrations, specifically Enterococcus; and if such relationship could be determined using the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor data for two beaches located in the northwest part of Puerto Rico. In situ data for TSS and FIB was collected and analyzed for the selected sites and compared to MODIS Terra 250 m reflectance product for a period of one year, collecting samples monthly. A good TSS in situ correlation was obtained with MODIS Terra TSS reflectance retrievals for our study sites, showing a linear fit coefficient of determination with an R-squared value of 0.7965 for algorithm TSS 1 and a 0.8014 for algorithm TSS 2. However, no enough data was available to create a robust statistical analysis to define the in situ relationship between FIB and TSS for the study sites. And similarly, when comparing MODIS directly to the FIB data, no trend could be defined from this comparison. It was found that more data is needed in order to create a definitive statistical analysis.