Planktothrix rubescens in freshwater reservoirs: The Sentinel-2 potentiality for mapping phycocyanin concentration

In December 2006 blooms of Planktothrix rubescens were found in the Prizzi reservoir in Sicily. P. rubescens is sadly famous for producing microcystins (MC), which are harmful hepatotoxins. Recently (2006) P. rubescens has been found in the Pozzillo, Nicoletti, Ancipa, Prizzi and Garcia reservoirs. This paper compares the optical properties of the water of an infested reservoir and those of a clear water reservoir. Furthermore it evaluates an empirical method based on bands product to evaluate the phycocyanin cell density from MODIS, Landsat ETM+ and Sentinel-2 images. Spectroradiometric field campaigns were carried out in February/March 2008 to quantify the spectral transparencies of two w…