Monitoring turbidity in the Ionical coast during extreme events by applying a Robust Satellite Technique (RST) to MODIS Imagery

Monitoring of Suspended Sediment Concentrations in plumes (SSC) at river mouths is particularly important for a correct sediment balance. Such evaluation requires the knowledge of many hydraulic and hydro-geological factors, highly variable in the space-time domain and not easily measurable through conventional techniques. Mainly because of this, satellite techniques have been proposed to allow the monitoring of SSC space-time dynamics with spatial resolution ranging between 250 and 3000 meters and time repetition from a few hours up to a few minutes. This paper presents a first attempt to apply the general Robust Satellite Technique (RST) approach, already used to investigate several natural and environmental hazards, for SS detection and mapping. Preliminary achieved results seem to confirm that such approach is suitable for automatically identifying the spectral signatures of different suspended particle mixtures, taking into account bathymetric effects, which might mask the presence of sediments near the coasts. A preliminary, qualitative integration of ground-based data and measurements (e.g. water levels and discharges) with satellite-based information is also proposed as a first step toward a further methodology suggested for a full data integration strategy. Ground-based and satellite derived information, based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery, are combined in the cases of the flood events occurred on 28 March 2007 and 11 March 2010 along the Ionical coast of Basilicata Region, in Southern Italy.