Relationship between Turbid Water and Coral Damage Distribution Using ALOS AVNIR-2 Images and Diving Survey Data Immediately after the Heavy Rain Disaster of the Amami-Oshima Island, Japan

Yuji Sakuno¹, Katsuki Oki²

¹Faculty of Engineering, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
²Tida Planning, Limited Company, Kagoshima, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ars.2015.41003                

Abstract

To understand the relationship between turbid water and coral damage caused by the heavy rain disaster at the end of October 2010 in Amami-Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, turbid water and coral damage distribution monitoring was attempted using satellite imagery and a diving survey immediately after the disaster. ALOS AVNIR-2 images (spatial resolution: 10 m) on October 6 (before the disaster), October 24, October 30, and October 31 (after the disaster) were obtained as satellite data in 2010. The red-silt deposition index (RSI) map based on the method by Nadaoka and Tamura (1992) was also created. Moreover, a diving survey was conducted via the spot check method on December 18, 2010. As a result, comparison between the high turbidity (RSI) areas estimated using AVNIR-2 data and the coral damage areas judging from the field survey was considered relatively light. It is shown that satellite data such as AVNIR-2 can be a powerful tool to monitor damage distribution of coral reefs after heavy rain.

Keywords

ALOS AVNIR-2, Heavy Rain Disaster, Amami-Oshima Island, Red-Silt Deposition Index

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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