NASA Earth Observatory recently featured research on the cloudy, sediment-rich waters of Alaska’s Kachemak Bay. The article highlights how glacial runoff carries finely ground rock, or “glacial flour,” into the bay, creating distinctive sediment plumes that can influence the coastal ecosystem.
As part of this research, University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers collected airborne hyperspectral observations during nine flights between 2019 and 2021 to map water color and sediment plumes across Kachemak Bay. The team combined these observations with decades of Landsat imagery to examine the size, seasonality, and persistence of the plumes.
The study demonstrates how hyperspectral imaging can provide a detailed, large-scale view of Alaska’s coastal waters and help connect field observations with changes across an entire ecosystem.
Read the full article: The Cloudy Waters of Kachemak Bay — NASA Earth Observatory