SBC LTER: Giant kelp canopy biomass from Landsat, 1982 - 2011

These data are a time series of canopy biomass of the giant kelp, Macrocystis
pyrifera , derived from LANDSAT 5 TM satellite imagery. The kelp canopy is
composed of potions of fronds floating on the surface of the water. Biomass data (wet
weight) are given for individual 30 x 30 meter pixels in the coastal areas extending from
Purisima Point, Santa Barbara County, to the US-Mexico border, including the Northern and
Southern Channel Islands. The Landsat 5 program began in 1984. Observations are made on a 16 day reqeat cycle but
the temporal coverage is irregular because of cloud cover and instrument failure. Estimates
of kelp canopy biomass are derived from the relationship between satellite reflectance and
empirical measurements of kelp canopy biomass in long-term SBC LTER study plots obtained
using SCUBA. These data are presented in a published paper: Cavanaugh, K. C., D. A. Siegel, D. C. Reed and
P. E. Dennison. 2011. Environmental controls of giant-kelp biomass in the Santa Barbara
Channel, California. Marine Ecology-Progress Series, 429: 1-17. doi:
10.3354/meps09141