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International Journal of Remote Sensing

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International Journal of Remote Sensing, 2014
Vol. 35, Nos. 11–12, 4127–4137, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2014.916056

Spatio-temporal distribution of chlorophyll-a concentration derived

from MODIS satellite remote-sensing and in situ observations in Sanya
Bay, China
Chunyan Shena,b,c, Ping Shia, Hui Zhaob*, Yanying Zhanga, and Junde Donga
a
State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanograghy, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; bCollege of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong
Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China; cCollege of Earth Sciences, University of Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
(Received 25 July 2013; accepted 18 November 2013)

This study examined satellite chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration and in situ observations
in Sanya Bay (SYB). In situ observation of chl-a was conducted four times per year at
12 sampling stations in SYB from January 2004 to October 2008. Monthly satellite chl-a
was derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) during
2000–2012. This study compared satellite chl-a values to in situ measurements in SYB.
The two data sets match well in the whole region except for two estuaries. Results show
that the average in situ chl-a was 1.49 mg m−3 in SYB. Chl-a was relatively higher
(>2 mg m−3) and more variable in coastal areas, with a tendency to decrease offshore
(<0.4 mg m−3). The chl-a level in summer displayed obviously vertical stratification,
with higher values at the bottom and lower values at the surface. Analysis of monthly
mean chl-a showed that the highest level (>2 mg m−3) appeared in December, with the
lowest in March (<1 mg m−3). The gradients are ranked winter, autumn, summer and
spring. There was higher chl-a in autumn and winter, which may be associated with the
stronger wind monsoon then. Annual mean chl-a from 2000 to 2012 varied from 1.17 to
2.05 mg m−3, with the minimum in 2001 and the maximum in 2005. The chl-a level
presented a roughly increasing tendency from 2000 to 2012, which may be related to the
increasing nutrients associated with the development of tourism and fishery.

1. Introduction
Chlorophyll-a (chl-a) is a key photosynthetic pigment and an indicator of the ecological
health of the aquatic environment. Accurate estimates of chl-a concentration are essential
to estimating primary productivity, biomass, water pollution, etc. Traditional sampling
methods require in situ sampling and laboratory measurements. Traditional methods can
give more accurate results at every sampling station, but they lack synchronization and
need large amounts of time and money for the sampling cruises. Recently, satellite remote
sensing, with its extensive spatial and temporal coverage, has been proven to be an ideal
substitute for traditional shipboard sampling. Over the past three decades, satellite remote
sensing has demonstrated its use in investigations of sea water phytoplankton. Since the
launch of the CZCS (Coastal Zone Color Scanner) on Nimbus-7 in late 1978, several
ocean colour satellite sensors, including SeaWiFS (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view
Sensor) and MODIS (Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), have been used
to determine water constituents, especially concentrations of chl-a in surface water, and to

*Corresponding author. Email: chaohui@scsio.ac.cn

© 2014 Taylor & Francis

4128 C. Shen et al.

investigate a wide variety of fundamental topics including ocean primary productivity,

biogeochemistry, coastal upwelling, harmful algal blooms, and eutrophication (Tang et al.
2003; Dall’Olmo et al. 2005; Matthewsa 2011).
Sanya Bay (SYB), a typical tropical bay south of the Hainan Islands, is located at 18°
12′–18° 18′ N, 109° 21′–109° 29′ E in the northwestern South China Sea (SCS). It covers
an area of 120 km2 with a coastline of 22 km in length and mean depth of 15 m. The
Sanya River (SYR) (length 31.3 km, drainage area 337 km2, and annual flow
2.11 × 109 m3) is the largest river flowing into the bay from the east. The Shaoqi River
(SQR) is the other river entering SYB from the northwest. The bay is important for marine
environmental conservation, marine economy, and tourism for the following reasons.
Coral reefs and mangroves are important resources in Dongmao Island (DMI), Ximao
Island (XMI), and Luhuitou, which are located in the mouth of the bay. In all seasons, the
beaches of SYB attract millions of people worldwide for tourism and vacations. However,
the rapid development of industry, agriculture, fishery, and tourism has introduced a series
of ecological/environmental problems. One study showed that parts of the sea area,
especially the estuary and the harbour, are polluted to a degree (He, Wen, and He
2001). Since the end of the twentieth century, research has been carried out on biological
resources and ecological environment in SYB (Huang et al. 2001; Dong et al. 2002;
Huang et al. 2003; Mao et al. 2006; Shi et al. 2007; Zhou et al. 2009). However, previous
studies lacked long-term observations of chl-a and investigation of correlative factors.
In this study, we analysed the spatial and temporal variations of chl-a using MODIS
data and ship survey measurements, and investigated the relationship between chl-a
concentration and chemical/physical characteristics in the waters of SYB. The study
will enhance understanding of the responses of the marine environment of marine bays
and gulfs to human activities and natural change, which may also be useful when
designing future ecosystem assessments and conservation in the SYB area.

2. Study area and data

2.1. Study area and in situ data
In situ chl-a data were provided by the Tropical Marine Biological Research Station,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Hainan. Surveys of the water column properties in SYB
were conducted at a total of 12 stations (black dots in Figure 1) over the entire SYB area

Figure 1. (a) Location of SYB; (b) location of the 12 sampling stations, denoted by black dots.
 International Journal of Remote Sensing 4129

Figure 2. Depth of stations.

once per season (sampling periods were in January, April or May, July or August, October
or November, respectively, for winter, spring, summer, and autumn). The samples were
filtered through 0.7 μm Whatman GF/F glass fibre filters (25 mm) immediately after
sampling. The filters were immediately stored in aluminium foil and kept at −20° until
laboratory analysis within 15 days (Zhou 2004). A fluorescence method was applied to
survey the concentration of chl-a (Parsons, M., and Lalli 1984). In this study, we recorded
chl-a concentration at the surface (1 m), middle, and bottom layers (i.e. water depth 2 m)
from 2004 to 2008. Sampling depths were monitored at each station (Figure 2). Missing
samples are shown in the latter figure. A total of 585 (221, 220, and 144 at the surface,
middle, and bottom layers, respectively) chl-a samples were obtained.

2.2. Satellite data

MODIS Terra was successfully launched on 18 December 1999, and MODIS Aqua (EOS
PM-1) was successfully launched on 4 May 2002. These MODIS instruments offer an
unprecedented look at terrestrial, atmospheric, and ocean phenomenology for a wide and
diverse community of users worldwide (http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/). The MODIS instru-
ment provides high radiometric sensitivity in 36 spectral bands ranging in wavelength
from 0.4 to 14.4 µm, bands 8 to 16 usually being used to invert water constituents. In the
present study, the synchronous data, satellite data of chl-a, and sea surface temperature
(SST) were obtained from MODIS by the Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG) of
the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), NASA (http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/ftp.
html). We obtained daily level 2 products of chl-a with a spatial resolution of 1 km
from 2000 to 2012, calculated using the empirical OC3M standard algorithm. The data
were projected using the ENVI software package. The chl-a data in ASCII format were
then processed to monthly, seasonal, and yearly values.
We also analysed sea-surface wind conditions to describe air–sea interactions. We
acquired QuikSCAT sea-surface monthly wind data from 2000 to 2009 (http://www.
ssmi.com/qscat/) and ASCAT sea-surface wind data from 2010 to 2012 (http://podaac.
jpl.nasa.gov/).
4130 C. Shen et al.

18°18′ 18°18′
N (a) N (b)

18°16′ 18°16′

18°14′ 18°14′

18°12′ 18°12′

109°20′E 109°22′ 109°24′ 109°26′ 109°28′ 109°30′ 109°20′E 109°22′ 109°24′ 109°26′ 109°28′ 109°30′

18°18′ 18°18′
N (c) N (d)

18°16′ 18°16′

18°14′ 18°14′

18°12′ 18°12′

109°20′E 109°22′ 109°24′ 109°26′ 109°28′ 109°30′ 109°20′E 109°22′ 109°24′ 109°26′ 109°28′ 109°30′

Figure 3. Seasonal distribution of in situ chl-a averaged for the entire column from 2004 to 2008
in SYB: (a) winter; (b) spring; (c) summer; (d) autumn (units: mg m−3).

3. Results
3.1. Chl-a patterns derived from in situ observations
The in situ-recorded chl-a was 0.62–9.19 mg m−3 (average 1.67 mg m−3) from 2004 to
2008 in the bay area. Images from the four season (Figures 3(a)–(d)) indicated a relatively
high (>5 mg m−3) concentration of chl-a in the SYR estuary, and a low concentration
offshore; the highest was at station 1 (6.21 ± 1.89 mg m−3) and the lowest at station 4
(0.97 ± 0.14 mg m−3) throughout the year. Figure 3 also shows that the contours were
dense in estuarine zones and sparse offshore in all four seasons. Higher levels of chl-a and
evident variation between stations 1 and 2 were observed over the four seasons. At
stations 3–12, mean chl-a decreased from winter (1.06 mg m−3; Figure 3(a)) to spring
(0.8 mg m−3; Figure 3(b)) and then gradually increased from summer (1.27 mg m−3;
Figure 3(c)) to autumn (1.53 mg m−3; Figure 3(d)).
According to the vertical distribution of chl-a (Figure 4), the highest level was
observed near estuary areas with a tendency to decrease offshore. From autumn to spring
(Figures 4(a), (b), and (d)), the vertical pattern of chl-a was similar, with a high value
(>7.5 mg m−3) at the surface near the estuary area, and relatively low (0.4–2.0 mg m−3)
and uniform values in the offshore area. In summer, an obvious vertical stratification
appeared (Figures 4(c)) in most of the study area, with the highest level (>2 mg m−3) in
the bottom layer, gradually decreasing upwards.

3.2. Analyses of satellite chl-a data

Figure 5 shows the monthly variation in mean MODIS chl-a from January to December in
SYB. Similar to that of in situ observations, the spatial distribution of MODIS chl-a is spatially
roughly accordant in every month, with relatively high values in the estuary and coastal areas,
and low offshore. The level was higher in the northeastern and lower in the southwestern part.
 International Journal of Remote Sensing 4131

0 0

–5 –5

–10 –10

–15 –15

–20 –20

–25 –25
depth (m)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
0 0

–5 –5

–10 –10

–15 –15

–20 –20

–25 –25

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Sampling station

Figure 4. Seasonal vertical distribution of in situ chl-a levels from 2004 to 2008: (a) winter; (b)
spring; (c) summer; (d) autumn (units: mg m−3).

During winter, the chl-a level ranged 1–7 mg m−3; in December, a high level
(>2 mg m−3) appeared in coastal areas. In the northwestern part of the bay, a high chl-a
plume extended south from SQR. In January, the highest chl-a level was in the SYR
estuary. A plume of high chl-a (>2 mg m−3) extended to XMI from eastern SQR. The
pattern of chl-a in February was similar to that in January, just like all the chl-a moving
eastward 3 km.
In spring, chl-a was generally low but with higher values near SYR. The horizontal
chl-a gradient was also lower.
During summer, chl-a evidently increased, especially in July. High chl-a (>2 mg m−3)
was recorded in the northeastern SYB over the whole summer. A high chl-a plume
4132 C. Shen et al.

Figure 5. Monthly averaged MODIS chl-a (mg m−3).

extended from coastal areas to DMI in June–July. There was an area of low chl-a
(<0.8 mg m−3) in northeastern XMI.
In autumn, chl-a increased gradually from September to November. In September,
there was a low-level (<1 mg m−3) area 6 km away from the southwestern SYR estuary. In
October, there were two areas of high chl-a in the bay: one near the SYR estuary, the other
in coastal regions between SYR and SQR. There was one plume of high chl-a (>2 mg m−3)
extending from the northern coastal regions to southern XMI in October, the level of
which reduced to the north of XMI in November. There was one area of low chl-a
(<0.5 mg m−3) between the two islands in October.
Chl-a concentration averaged over the whole bay was higher in winter (Figure 8(a))
and lower in spring (<1 mg m−3), with the highest (>2 mg m−3) in December and the
lowest in May, and the gradients were ranked winter, autumn, summer, and spring,
respectively. Figure 8(b) shows the inter-annual changes in chl-a. Annual mean chl-a
from 2000 to 2012 varied from 1.17 mg m−3 (2001) to 2.05 mg m−3 (2005). Regression
analyses for chl-a showed an increasing tendency, with a slope of 0.045 over the past
10 years (Figure 8(b)). This may indicate the tendency of chl-a to increase year by year.

3.3. Comparison of in situ and satellite measurements

Satellite ocean colour is controversial in coastal waters. However, previous studies
indicate that the chl-a product is roughly practicable in the western SCS including our
 International Journal of Remote Sensing 4133

Figure 6. Comparison between MODIS-derived and in situ measurements of chl-a.

study area (Zhao, Tang, and Wang 2005). Tang found that satellite-derived chl-a concen-
trations had generally good agreement with in situ measurements, but that derived from
the standard chl-a algorithm was overestimated about 1.65-fold over the whole SCS (Tang
et al. 2004). To verify the agreement of MODIS data with in situ data, we selected
MODIS data taken from the same locations as in situ surface data on the same day. We
selected surface in situ chl-a data used in the present study because the mean sea-water
transparency in SYB was usually less than 4 m (Song et al. 2009). We obtained 58
matching samples over five days in total. Figure 6(a) shows the comparison between
MODIS-derived and in situ measurements of chl-a at 12 stations from January 2004 to
December 2008. Satellite-derived chl-a was mostly higher than in situ measurements,
except for three abnormal values (Figure 6(a)). When we removed these three abnormal
values from the comparison, the two data sets showed better agreement (r = 0.67), with a
regression equation of y = 0.5315x + 1.2792 showing the comparison between in situ and
satellite data (Figure 6(b)). The above analysis of agreement indicates that MODIS data
were reasonable as used in the present study.

4. Discussion and conclusion

4.1. Comparison of chl-a derived from in situ and MODIS observations
Chl-a concentration retrieved from remote-sensing imagery in Case I waters recorded
reasonable results for the local best cases (Gordon 1990), but algorithms developed for
use in Case I waters generally performed badly in coastal waters. Our study is the first to
analyse agreement between MODIS and in situ measurements in SYB. Results showed that
MODIS chl-a (Figure 6(a)) was only higher than in situ measurements in most of our study
area. Overestimation of the satellite data in coastal waters may be attributed to suspended
material (SM) and coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) (Tang et al. 2004).
Nevertheless, MODIS data generally matched well with in situ measurements over the
entire bay (Figure 6(b)). The results indicate that MODIS output are an appropriate tool with
which to identify or investigate the spatial and temporal variation of chl-a in SYB.

4.2. Influence of ocean conditions on chl-a distribution

The South China Sea, located in the tropical zone, is a well-known monsoon region with
seasonal reversal winds and high surface water temperature. Mean monthly wind data
4134 C. Shen et al.

(Table 1) indicated a very strong seasonal reversal monsoon in SYB. There were westerly
or southeasterly winds in spring, southerly winds in summer, and northeasterly winds in
autumn and winter. The evident change in chl-a was closely related to the strong monsoon
(r = 0.82; Table 1, Figure 7), with higher chl-a vs. stronger wind. Owing to relatively
strong northeasterly winds and the sea-surface cooling leading to intensification of vertical

Table 1. Monthly mean chl-a and wind averaged for the entire SYB.

Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Chl-a (mg m−3) 1.95 1.49 0.96 1.15 0.98 1.26 1.73 1.35 1.55 2.02 2.10 2.23
Wind speed (m s–1) 8.5 8.0 6.2 6.8 6.4 6.6 6.4 6.6 6.8 8.0 10.0 9.0
Wind direction (°) 225 230 270 310 340 355 360 20 230 235 220 210

Figure 7. Diagram of monthly chl-a and wind speed.

Figure 8. (a) Monthly variation in MODIS chl-a averaged for the entire bay; (b) annual variation
in MODIS chl-a concentrations.
 International Journal of Remote Sensing 4135

mixing (Figures 4(a)–(d)) during the winter monsoon, the abundant nutrients were
brought up from the bottom so that chl-a was higher (Figures 5 and 8(a)) in autumn/
winter. During summer, because of the abundant nutrients intruding in the bottom layer
and being limited to several metres above the bottom layer of the bay area driven by
southerly winds – as well as strong photo-inhibition at the surface layer, chl-a concentra-
tion was much higher in the bottom layer than in the surface of the obvious stratification
zone (Figure 4(c)). This result agreed with Dong’s research (Dong et al. 2002), which
showed also that there was seasonal cold-water intrusion into SYB from offshore regions
between June and August, which caused obvious stratification in summer.
Horizontal distribution of SST was relatively uniform over the entire bay, except for a
slightly higher level near shore areas. Seasonal mean SST in SYB ranged from 23.2°C in
winter to 29.1°C in summer. The correlation coefficient of mean monthly chl-a concen-
tration and mean monthly SST was 0.34, suggesting that variation in chl-a and SST had
little correlation. SYB is located in the tropical zone where light radiation is rich, and the
characteristic of SST in SYB accorded with the local tropical climate. Furthermore, the
depth of SYB is less than 30 m (Mao et al. 2006) and the sea water transparence is 3.31–
6.73 m (Song et al. 2009). Consequently, light radiation is not the limiting factor for chl-a
increase for photosynthesis in the surface layer. Our results agreed roughly with previous
observation in SCS (Zhao, Tang, and Choi 2006).
High chl-a in the estuaries and coastal areas (Figures 3–5) may be caused by surface and
river runoff. With diffusion and consumption of nutrients when nutrients are transported
offshore, chl-a gradually decreased offshore. Owing to runoff from the Sanya River and the
topography of Sanya Bay (i.e. the small island between station 2 and the Sanya estuary),
discharge from the river with abundant nutrients is more easily transported to station 1 than
station 2. As a result, the chl-a concentrations at station 1 are much higher than that in to
station 2, although they are both close to the coast. Moreover, higher chl-a (>5 mg m−3)
(Figures 3–5) in the coastal areas was always recorded between summer and winter, with the
peak in autumn. Wang, Wu, and Chen (2006) showed that rainfall in Hainan Island was
mainly concentrated from May to October, and the peak value appeared generally in
August–October. Runoff with rich nutrients in the rainy season caused higher chl-a in
river mouths. In the offshore area, the highest chl-a values appeared in winter (Figures 3–5),
implying strong vertical mixing driven by winter monsoons may exert important effect on
chl-a in the offshore area. In addition, the increasing tendency of chl-a (Figure 8(b)) over
past decades may be associated with the increased precipitation trend reported. Cheng and
Wu (2004) found that precipitation in south Hainan Island showed an evident increasing
trend in recent decades.
According to certain reports (http://env.people.com.cn/GB/8220/5565834.html), over
ten million cubic metres of sewage with abundant organics was disembogued annually
into SYB through eight sewage draining exits. However, only about half of this sewage
was treated before it poured into the sea. The discharge of waste water emissions
increased year by year with the rapid development of marine tourism in the region.
This may be another factor causing the increasing annual trend of chl-a in the coastal
area. In recent years, the marine environment has also been severely compromised by
about six million diving tourists every year in the Sanya coastal region (http://res.hersp.
com/content/1637971). Furthermore, the popular sport of sea fishing in recent years may
be another factor leading to marine pollution. Autumn and winter are the peak seasons of
tourism in SYB, coinciding roughly with the periods of peak chl-a (Figure 8(a)). From the
above, it is assumed that tourism may exert an influence on chl-a increase or peak to some
degree. According to the present tendency of increasing chl-a, marine environments will
4136 C. Shen et al.

further deteriorate in the short term, which increases the possibility of red tides. Therefore,
it is necessary to adopt rational management tactics to control the negative influence of
tourism and to reduce pollution emission in the peak tourism season. It is gratifying that
the government has gradually realized the seriousness of the problem, and in 2012
invested more than 50 million RMB to improve the marine environment governance
(http://www.mlr.gov.cn/xwdt/hyxw/201303/t20130325_1195681.htm). We are sure that
the environment in SYB will improve continuously.

4.3. Conclusions
The present study revealed significant spatial and temporal variations in chl-a, as well as
ocean conditions in SYB, using in situ and satellite data. Comparison of chl-a between
MODIS-derived and in situ measurements indicated that the two datasets match well over
the whole study region except for the estuary. chl-a concentration was relatively higher
and more variable in the river mouths, and decreased offshore; this is associated with rich
nutrient runoff from the land. Over the whole bay, chl-a concentration was higher in
autumn and winter, which may be associated with the strong monsoon. The annual
increasing tendency of chl-a was possibly due to the increasing nutrient levels caused
by the rapid development of tourism and fishery.

Acknowledgements
In situ chl-a was measured by the Tropical Marine Biological Research Station, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, in Hainan.

Funding
The present research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
[grant numbers: 41376125 and 41006070], Educational Commission of Guangdong
Province, China [2012KJCX0065], and Scientific Research Foundation for the Talents
by Guangdong Ocean University.

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