Landsat Level-2 Provisional Aquatic Reflectance of the Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay watershed spans more than 64,000 square miles (166,000 square kilometers) and encompasses parts of six states—Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia—and the District of Columbia. It is home to more than 18 million people, with roughly 10 million of those people living along or near the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Population and industrial growth, coupled with urban and stormwater runoff, are the leading causes of water quality impairment in the Bay. Long-term water quality monitoring in the area, which officially began in 1984, provides regular assessments of water quality to protect human health and aquatic ecosystems.

These on-the-ground assessments can be paired with remote sensing data, such as the Landsat Level-2 Provisional Aquatic Reflectance science product, to enhance water quality monitoring efforts. This science product has the potential to make valuable contributions to aquatic science and environmental monitoring, especially in inland and near-shore waters, by allowing scientists to map the optically active components of the upper water column. Possible applications include water color classification, algal bloom mapping, and sediment runoff modeling and forecasting.

Learn more about Landsat Collection 2 Level-2 Provisional Aquatic Reflectance Science Product here and here.  

This image is a Band 4 mosaic from four different Landsat Level-2 Provisional Aquatic Reflectance scenes:

Landsat 9, Path 015/Row 033, October 20, 2024
Landsat 9, Path 015/Row 034, October 20, 2024
Landsat 8, Path 014/Row 033, October 21, 2024
Landsat 8, Path 014/Row 034, October 21, 2024