Submerged Kelp Biomass Assessment using CASI

Remote sensing is an effective data source for location of submerged kelp beds. However, biomass assessment must be supported by in situ data. This chapter presents a method to estimate the biomass from remote sensing images. The method takes advantage of the synoptic coverage offered by remote sensing and the local variability of biomass measurable through field surveys. An application is presented with an airborne image of the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada. It is shown that biomass estimates vary with the species present in dense kelp beds. The biomass estaimates based on the entire survey is 802 ± 517 metric tons (t). However, an estimate of 1501 ± 77 t takes into account the species dominating the surveyed quadrats.