Algae blooms in the Yellow Sea between 2010 and 2012 from MODIS observations

Coastal ecosystem is one of the most important ecosystems on the earth. However, the ecosystem is being fragile due to both anthropogenic (e.g., aquaculture) and natural (e.g., climate change) effects. The recurrent green algae blooms in the Yellow Sea, as one of the environmental disaster, affect the coastal ecosystem. Thus, detecting the origin of the algae and tracing the underlying causes are the premise and effective methods to solve the serious environmental problem. In this work, 1,418 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 m resolution images cover the Yellow Sea between 2010 and 2012 were selected to study the blooming date, location, area and moving direction of the green algae blooms. The anthropogenic and natural effects in the coastal area were analyzed by selected database, including aquaculture data and meteorological data to address the potential causes of the green algae blooms. Results showed that 1. the initial blooming location were nearby the coastal zone of Lianyungang between 2010 and 2012; 2. the initial blooming date forwarded from the early June to the late May between 2010 and 2012; 3. the initial green algae coverage area increased from 22.62 km2 to 66.13 km2 between 2010 and 2012; 4. the correlation analysis shows that the seaweed aquaculture area, the sea surface temperature (SST) and the accumulate temperature collectively played strong positive roles in affecting the green algae blooms between 2010 and 2012. The main purposes of the work were to pose significant environmental concerns to the local government and management agencies in controlling and preventing the environmental disaster, and to help people to understand the local environmental changes in response to human activities and global climate change.