A Review on Remote Sensing Approaches on Coastal Aquatic Systems

Coastal ecosystems are the natural systems with high biotic production ranging from coral reefs to seagrass meadows, sand dunes, mangroves, salt marshes, tidal flats, lagoons and estuaries. The most common form of detections and monitoring of coastal aquatic systems are water quality, Chlorophyll ?a, biomass of aquatic vegetation and Phytoplankton, which include in - situ sampling and laboratory analysis. Historical water quality data are seldom available in many instances. To overcome these limitations, remote sensing in coastal aquatic resources can be a helpful tool. It can be used in a more effective and efficient manner to monitor and identify large - scale regions and water bodies that suffer from qualitative problems. The remote sensed data in the digital form helps to carry out the digital spatial analytical process. Remote sensing approaches combined with the Geographic Information System have been extensively used for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems monitoring. This review summarizes the basic concepts and remote sensing applications in coastal water bodies, with special reference to water quality and chlorophyll - a detection.