Satellite observations of picocyanobacterial blooms in Florida Bay (USA)

Published: 9 November 2026| Version 1 | DOI: 10.17632/vdd3v4h65d.1
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Description

This dataset contains satellite-derived (a) maps of picocyanobacterial bloom occurrence frequency (BOF) and bloom intensity (BI) and (b) bloom footprints (km^2) for the Florida Bay region (24.5N – 25.4N, 81.5W – 80.2W) between May 2003 and April 2025. Satellite data were collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Aqua satellite. Bloom statistics were generated both monthly and annually. Annual bloom statistics were determined based on water years (WY) that begin in May of the previous calendar year and end in April to better reflect local hydrology. Each WY then consists of an entire wet (May-October) and dry (November-April) season.

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MODIS/Aqua satellite Level-0 data were obtained from the U.S. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov) and processed to obtain Level-2 spectral Rayleigh-corrected reflectance (Rrc) and quality assurance flag information using NASA processing software (SeaDAS version 10.0). Data from MODIS bands collected at coarser spatial resolution (1 km) were spatially interpolated to 250 m. Level-2 data were then reprojected into Level 3 data using a cylindrical equidistant projection prior to further analysis. For quality assurance purposes, the land, high radiance, straylight, and cloud/ice Level-2 processing flags were applied. MODIS Rrc was used to estimate cyanobacterial chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl_CYANO; Cannizzaro et al. 2019). Cyanobacteria bloom pixels were identified based on the following criteria: Chl_CYANO > 5 mg m^-3. Bloom occurrence frequency (BOF) was calculated as the ratio of number of bloom occurrences to number of valid observations at each location. Mean Chl_CYANO, representing bloom intensity (BI), was calculated from all valid pixels at each location. Cumulative bloom footprints (km^2), representing the total bloom area, were determined from all pixels with BOF > 0%. BOF and BI maps were stored as digital files in binary format (floating point Geotiff files) and imagery format (png files). Png image files are provided to facilitate visualization. The following masks were applied: land (brown), waters outside of the study area (dark gray), and shallow mud banks (light gray). Pixels flagged using Level-2 processing flags are black. Monthly and annual bloom footprints (km^2) were stored in an Excel file (‘MODIS_FLBay_bloom_footprints.xlsx’). Cannizzaro et al. (2019). Remote detection of cyanobacteria blooms in an optically shallow subtropical lagoonal estuary using MODIS data. Remote Sens. Environ., 231, 111227, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2019.111227.

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Satellite Remote Sensing, Florida, Chlorophyll a, Phytoplankton Bloom

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