Trophic status assessment of small turbid lakes comparing remote sensing and in situ data: case study at lower Danube floodplain

The aim of the study was to compare in situ and remote sensing data, in order to assess the applicability of satellite images in water quality monitoring of floodplain lakes. Two indicators of trophic status were compared: chlorophyll a and total suspended matter. Two lakes on Lower Danube floodplain were selected: Srebarna and Malak Preslavets. Data were obtained in July and August 2018. Sentinel 2 MSI L1c images were analyzed in SeNtinel Application Platform (SNAP), (v. 6.0). According to in situ data, Srebarna Lake indicated status of eutrophication, while Malak Preslavets experienced hypertrophic conditions. Satellite data indicated eutrophic conditions for both lakes. Comparing the results from in situ and satellite data, chlorophyll a showed higher correlation (r = 0.66) and comparable results. On the other hand, significantly overestimation of suspended matter according to satellite data were found, as well weaker correlation (r = 0.57) between both methods. Remote sensing i.e. Sentinel products are emerging as a powerful tool in environmental observation. Although weather conditions could have significant impact on environmental dynamic especially in floodplain lakes, combining and comparing of different methods could improve the preciseness of the methodology as well as assessment reliability.