Senso s 2015, 15, 8732-8748; doi:10.3390/s150408732
senso s
ISSN 1424-8220
www.mdpi.com/jou nal/senso s
A icle
Segmen a ion and T acking o An icyclonic Eddies du ing a
Subma ine Volcanic E up ion Using Ocean Colou Image y
Ja ie Ma cello 1,*, F ancisco Eugenio 1, Sheila Es ada-Allis 2 and Pablo Sang à 1
1 Ins i u o de Oceanog a ía y Cambio Global, Uni e sidad de Las Palmas de G.C.,
Campus Uni e si a io de Ta i a, 35017 Las Palmas de G an Cana ia, Spain;
E-Mails: [email p o ec ed] (F.E.); [email p o ec ed] (P.S.)
2 Depa amen o de Física, Uni e sidad de Las Palmas de G an Cana ia,
35017 Las Palmas de G an Cana ia, Spain; E-Mail: [email p o ec ed]lpgc.es
* Au ho o whom co espondence should be add essed; E-Mail: ja ie [email p o ec ed];
Tel.: +34-928-457365; Fax: +34-928-451243.
Academic Edi o : Fab izio Lambe i
Recei ed: 15 Janua y 2015 / Accep ed: 7 Ap il 2015 / Published: 14 Ap il 2015
Abs ac : The e up i e phase o a subma ine olcano loca ed 2 km away om he
sou he n coas o El Hie o Island s a ed on Oc obe 2011. This ex ao dina y e en
p o oked a d ama ic pe u ba ion o he wa e column. In o de o unde s and and quan i y
he en i onmen al impac s caused, a egula mul idisciplina y moni o ing was ca ied ou
using emo e sensing senso s. In his con ex , we pe o med he sys ema ic p ocessing o
e e y MODIS and MERIS and selec ed high esolu ion Wo ld iew-2 image y o p o ide
in o ma ion on he concen a ion o a numbe o biological, physical and chemical
pa ame e s. On he o he hand, he e up ion p o ided an excep ional sou ce o ace ha
allowed he s udy a a ie y o oceanog aphic s uc u es. Speci ically, he Cana y Islands
belong o a e y ac i e zone o long-li ed eddies. Such s uc u es a e usually moni o ed
using sea le el anomaly ields. Howe e hese p oduc s ha e coa se spa ial esolu ion and
hey a e no sui able o pe o m submesoscale s udies. Thanks o he olcanic ace ,
de ailed s udies we e unde aken wi h ocean colou image y allowing, using he di use
a enua ion coe icien , o moni o he p ocess o ilamen a ion and axisymme iza ion
p edic ed by heo e ical s udies and nume ical modelling. In ou wo k, a no el 2-s ep
segmen a ion me hodology has been de eloped. The app oach inco po a es di e en
segmen a ion algo i hms and egion g owing echniques. In pa icula , he i s s ep ob ains
an ini ial eddy segmen a ion using h esholding o clus e ing me hods and, nex , he ine
OPEN ACCESS
Senso s 2015, 15 8733
de ail is achie ed by he i e a i e iden i ica ion o he poin s o g ow and he subsequen
applica ion o wa e shed o h esholding s a egies. The me hodology has demons a ed an
excellen pe o mance and obus ness and i has p o en o p ope ly cap u e he eddy and
i s ilamen s.
Keywo ds: olcano; eddies; segmen a ion; clus e ing; h esholding; wa e shed; MODIS;
MERIS; Wo ld iew-2
1. In oduc ion
Mesoscala oceanic eddies a e ubiqui ous s uc u es ha can be ound anywhe e in he wo ld’s
oceans, wi h a p edominance o an icyclonic o e cyclonic o exes [1]. Se e al s udies [2–4] poin ou
ha hese mesoscala s uc u es can exe an impo an ole on he global clima e and local oceanic
dynamic due o i s in luence in he anspo o ocean hea and momen um, as well as, in he
enhancemen o e ical shea mixing and bo h bio ic and abio ic ace s.
In he No h Eas A lan ic Ocean, he p esence o he Cana y A chipelago ac s as an obs acle o he
oceanic and a mosphe ic lows, o igina ing a ich mesoscale a iabili y mainly ep esen ed by
an icyclonic and cyclonic eddies spun o om he islands’ lanks [5,6]. The mechanisms o such
a iabili y a e in oked h ough he pe u ba ion o he Cana y Cu en and T ades Winds by he all
opog aphy islands such as El Hie o [7]. Eddy adius a ies be ween he o igin island adius
(~12–25 km) a hei ini ial s age and c.a. 75 km a hei dissipa i e s age [5]. They a e be ween 300
and 700 m dep h depending on hei in ensi y [8]. An icyclonic eddies a e ini ially mo e in ense wi h a
o a ion a e o abou 3 days whe eas he ini ial o a ion a e o cyclones is ca. 5 days [6]. Cana y
Island eddies a e long-li ed eddies (>4 mon hs) being a he o igin o he Cana y Eddy Co ido which
is he main pa hway o long-li ed eddies in he sub opical No h A lan ic Ocean [9], he e o e hey
ha e no only a local impac bu also a emo e impac .
In his con ex , ac i e and passi e sa elli e senso s ha e been ope a ing o in es iga e he a iabili y
o mesoscale ea u es in he ocean. In pa icula , sea le el anomaly ields om al ime e s [10] ha e
sys ema ically been used o de ec and moni o eddies. Some ecen s udies can be ound in [11–15].
Un o una ely, hese al ime e p oduc s ha e spa ial esolu ion o ens o kilome es and, hus, hey a e
sui able o global s udies bu a e no adequa e o pe o m de ailed analysis a submesoscale le el, o
analyse hei ilamen s o o s udy eddies wi h ho izon al scales below 50 km, which is close o
wo old he clima ological i s ba oclinic Rossby adius o de o ma ion o he Cana y Islands egion.
This scale is he na u al scale o mesoscale eddies a hei ini ial s age and dec eases wi h inc easing
la i ude. Howe e , hese ine s udies can be o e come om space by op ical/in a ed senso s [16–19].
In his way, sa elli e de i ed ull esolu ion da a o chlo ophyll-a concen a ion o sea su ace
empe a u e can be used o ho oughly cha ac e ize eddies. Un o una ely, no all hese s uc u es can
be clea ly seen in ocean colou o he mal image y, as his depends on which way hey o a e, apa
om he clima ological incon enience. An i-cyclonic eddies in he no he n hemisphe e a e
pa icula ly di icul o de ec and analyse wi h hese da a.
Senso s 2015, 15 8734
The e up ion o a subma ine olcano a El Hie o Island p o ided a unique and ou s anding sou ce
o ace ha enabled us o s udy a a ie y o s uc u es. El Hie o, an island o he A lan ic Ocean
coas o No h A ica was ocked by housands o emo s and ea hquakes since July 2011. On
Oc obe 10 o he same yea an unde wa e olcanic e up ion s a ed 300 me e s below sea le el.
Figu e 1 displays he loca ion o he olcano and images du ing he i s days a e he e up ion. I has
o be poin ed ou ha his na u al ace elease has p o ided an excep ional oppo uni y o pe o m a
de ailed moni o ing o an an icyclonic eddy. Low and high- esolu ion sa elli e images ob ained om
MODIS, MERIS and Wo ldView senso s we e sys ema ically p ocessed [20] o p o ide in o ma ion on
he concen a ion o a numbe o ma ine pa ame e s: chlo ophyll-a concen a ion, suspended ma e , PIC,
POC, e c. These oceanog aphic emo e sensing da a also played a undamen al ole du ing ield
campaigns guiding he Spanish Go e nmen oceanog aphic essel o he app op ia e sampling a eas [21].
(a) (b) (c)
Figu e 1. Subma ine olcano e up ion a El Hie o Island du ing Oc obe 2011:
(a) loca ion o he unde wa e olcano; (b) pho og aphs du ing he e up ion; and
(c) sa elli e image by NASA EO-1 ALI© senso .
T adi ional eddy de ec ion me hods using al ime e da a can be ca ego ized in o h ee classes [22]:
(i) hose based on a physical pa ame e , usually he Okubo–Weiss app oach; (ii) hose based on low
geome y, wi h he winding-angle app oach being a ep esen a i e me hod ha iden i ies eddies by
clus e ing closed o spi al s eamlines; and (iii) hose based on sea su ace heigh o le el anomaly in
which a h eshold is always equi ed o delimi eddy dimensions. Se e al h esholds ha e been applied,
ypically anging om 6 cm o 10 cm, depending on he egion o s udy and size o he s uc u es
o conside .
In ou wo k, as we deal wi h highe esolu ion op ical ocean colou da a, he de ec ion app oaches
a e di e en , mainly add essing segmen a ion echniques. Segmen a ion is pe o med based on
di e en a ibu es o an image such as size, colou , ex u e e c. Se e al image segmen a ion echniques
ha e been de eloped o a a ie y o applica ions in a ious ields o image analysis [23–27], om
ea u e-based app oaches, such as clus e ing and his og am h esholding, as well as spa ial
domain-based me hods, such as egion g owing-spli ing-me ging, ene gy-d i en ac i e con ou s,
Senso s 2015, 15 8735
g aph cu s, and wa e sheds. Ou me hodology o he au oma ic and p ecise de ec ion o oceanog aphic
ea u es is based on an ini ial s uc u e de ec ion ollowed by a ine de ail g owing p ocess.
This pape illus a es he capabili ies o mul ispec al sa elli e emo e sensing sys ems o imp o e
he unde s anding and moni o ing o subma ine olcanic p ocesses and, mainly, i p esen s a no el
image p ocessing me hodology o he segmen a ion o oceanog aphic s uc u es. To ha espec ,
au oma ed de ec ion me hods a e essen ial o unde s anding he complex mo emen s and he dynamic
cha ac e is ic o mesoscale eddies.
The o ganiza ion o con en s is s uc u ed as ollows: Sec ion 2 includes de sa elli e image y used
and desc ibes he wo-s eps segmen a ion algo i hm. Sec ion 3 p esen s he main esul s. Finally,
Sec ion 4 summa izes he main conclusions.
2. Me hodology
2.1. Ocean Colou Image y
Sa elli e da a om AQUA/TERRA-MODIS and ENVISAT-MERIS senso s ha e been he main
sou ce o emo e sensing image in o ma ion o moni o ing El Hie o subma ine olcanic p ocesses.
The NASA Mode a e- esolu ion Imaging Spec o adiome e (MODIS) has a iewing swa h wid h o
2330 km, i images he Ea h in 36 spec al bands, anging om 0.405 µm o 14.385 µm, and i collec s
da a a h ee spa ial esolu ions: 250, 500, and 1000 me e s. The ESA Medium Resolu ion Imaging
Spec ome e (MERIS) has a swa h wid h o 1,150 km, measu ing he sola adia ion e lec ed by he
Ea h in 15 spec al bands om 0.4125 µm o 0.9 µm and wi h a pixel ield o iew o 0.019°,
gene a ing ull esolu ion da a a 300 m esolu ion.
We ha e implemen ed a me hodology o p o iding mul i empo al and mul isenso image y
in o ma ion, a 1000 m (MODIS) and 300 m (MERIS) esolu ion, on he concen a ion o speci ic
oceanog aphic pa ame e s, mainly chlo ophyll-a (Chl-a) concen a ion and di use a enua ion
coe icien (Kd).
The di use a enua ion coe icien is an impo an wa e p ope y ela ed o ligh pene a ion in he
blue-g een wa eleng hs o he spec um. I can p o ide aluable in o ma ion abou he anspa ency o
he amoun o dissol ed and suspended ma e ials in he wa e column. Sa elli e obse a ions o his
coe icien , a he wa eleng h 490 nm, a e an e ec i e me hod o p o ide u bidi y maps o ocean and
coas al wa e s a high spa ial and empo al esolu ions. Se e al empi ical and semi-analy ical models
ha e been de eloped o es ima e Kd; howe e , hey a e gene ally applicable o clea open ocean wa e s.
Recen ly, imp o ed models ha e appea ed [28] mos ly applicable o u bid coas al wa e s. In ou case,
sa elli e es ima ions o he di use a enua ion coe icien and chlo ophyll-a concen a ion unde hese
abno mal condi ions we e assessed [20]. A e compa ing in-si u measu emen wi h Chl-a p oduc s
ob ained using he MODIS and MERIS algo i hms, we concluded ha chlo ophyll es ima ions we e
e oneous in such a eas wi h ex eme u bidi y. On he o he hand, es ima ions o Kd using common
ope a ional algo i hms we e no ully accu a e due o he physical-chemical al e a ions p o oked by he
unde wa e olcano. Fo his eason, o MODIS and MERIS, we ob ained and alida ed imp o ed Kd
models o coas al u bid wa e s [20]. As a consequence, only Kd p oduc s ha e been conside ed
app op ia e o he moni o ing o he oceanog aphic s uc u es du ing he e en .
Senso s 2015, 15 8736
Using he men ioned algo i hms, we p oduced pe iodic K
d
maps du ing he ime ame o he
olcanic e up ion o allow he moni o ing o he plume e olu ion and o he gene a ed s uc u es. As an
example, Figu e 2 p esen s mul i empo al and mul isenso K
d
maps o he plume and he eddy
p og ession du ing speci ic days o Oc obe and No embe 2011.
Apa om he egula moni o ing o he olcano ac i i y wi h he p o ision o all cloud ee
oceanog aphic p oduc s o he go e nmen al and esea ch use s, a da abase composed by K
d
MODIS
and MERIS images o No embe 2011, as shown in Figu e 2, displaying he e olu ion o he eddy is
used o desc ibe he segmen a ion me hodology de eloped.
Figu e 2. Mul i empo al K
d
p oduc gene a ed om MODIS (Te a and Aqua) and MERIS
(ENVISAT) da a du ing Oc obe and No embe 2011.
On he o he hand, he subma ine olcano was also moni o ed using medium and high esolu ion
da a. In pa icula , he e y high esolu ion Wo ld iew-2 sa elli e was selec ed due o i s excellen
cha ac e is ics ha ing eigh mul ispec al bands wi h 2 m esolu ion. Thus, Wo ldView-2 spec al bands
we e a mosphe ically co ec ed and deglin ed p io o ob ain a e y high- esolu ion K
d
model. This
no el model was de eloped and alida ed using ma chup da a se s wi h MERIS, MODIS da a, in-si u
ansmi ances measu emen s and a seawa e adia i e ans e model [20]. This ex ao dina y
esolu ion allows he analysis o he ma ine s uc u es a he highes le el o de ail.

Senso s 2015, 15 8737
Figu e 3 displays a colou composi e Wo ldView-2 image acqui ed on 26 Oc obe . The image was
p e-p ocessed o emo e he a mosphe ic and sun-glin e ec s in o de o eliably ob ain he
e lec ance emi ed om he sea su ace. We can no ice he b own pa ch in he olcano cone loca ion
and g eene wa e s indica ing he p esence o lowe concen a ions o olcanic ma e ial. Thus, we can
see ex emely u bid wa e s wi h alues abo e 1.5 m−1 in he cen e o he e up ion and g adually
dec easing in he su oundings. The di use a enua ion coe icien was es ima ed using ou imp o ed
algo i hm [20].
Un o una ely, due o he la ge ho izon al ex ension o eddies, hei con inuous moni o ing and
acking using his sou ce o in o ma ion is no sui able and ex emely expensi e. Wo ldView-2 was
p og ammed o collec da a du ing hese mon hs bu , un o una ely, only he displayed image was
app op ia e (Oc obe 2011), while o he es , he olcano ac i i y had empo a ily s opped o was
e y low in he sensed a ea.
(a) (b)
Figu e 3. Wo ld iew-2 image o Oc obe 26, 2011: (a) colou composi e (bands 5-3-2) and
(b) e y high esolu ion di use a enua ion coe icien map (clouds masked in black).
2.2. Me hodology o he P ecise Segmen a ion o Eddies
Me hods o de ec ing eddies a e e y impo an and can help o be e unde s and he p ocesses
in ol ed in eddy gene a ion, e olu ion and decaying, as well as hei impac s on ma ine en i onmen
and clima e change. In addi ion, such eddy segmen a ion allows o he e alua ion o he nume ical
modelling pe o mance in e ms o eddy cen e, posi ions, sizes and mo ion. The p ecise de ec ion
app oach we ha e de eloped is p esen ed in Figu e 4. The me hodology is composed by wo s eps:
(i) Ini ial eddy de ec ion: Fi s , a p e-p ocessing is applied o he MODIS/MERIS Kd images. Nex ,
he ini ial segmen a ion s age is applied wi h he possibili y o selec di e en clus e ing and
h esholding algo i hms. Finally, a pos -p ocessing is equi ed o emo e isola ed noisy pixels o
Senso s 2015, 15 8738
o ill holes in he eddy s uc u e due o clouds. A e he ini ial de ec ion, he s uc u e is well
iden i ied; howe e he ine de ail o he eme ging ilamen s canno be p ese ed wi hou
inco po a ing unwan ed a eas.
(ii) Eddy g ow h: The p ecise delimi a ion is o undamen al impo ance when analysing he
s uc u e and i s e olu ion, so con olled g owing echniques a e applied only whe e ilamen s
appea . Poin s o g ow and hei di ec ions a e ound using he skele on o he ini ial s uc u e
de ec ed. A each poin , a window wi h he co esponding o ien a ion and size masks he image
and new pixels a e added o he s uc u e a e he applica ion o h esholding o wa e shed egion
g owing algo i hms. This p ocess is i e a i ely applied o achie e he desi ed ine segmen a ion.
Figu e 4. Me hodology o he au oma ic segmen a ion o eddies using op ical image y.
The di e en modules ha in eg a e he me hodology a e nex explained in de ail.
2.2.1. Ini ial Eddy De ec ion
P e-P ocessing
The p ope segmen a ion o eddies is in e e ed by he p esence o clouds, land, e c. So, a cloud
mask (CM), as well as he land mask (LM) a e applied o he geome ically co ec ed (GC) Kd image.
Despi e he good pe o mance o he cloud de ec ion algo i hm [29], in e ms o de ec ion and alse
ala m p obabili ies, no all he exis ing cloud pixels a e masked. The e o e hey may appea as noise in
he segmen ed image. In o de o minimize i s e ec , an op ional 3 × 3 median il e ing (median) can
be applied o he co ec ed and masked image. This il e ing me hod has also been selec ed because o
i s smoo hing e ec wi hou edge de e io a ion. Thus, he p e-p ocessed image (
) is ob ained
as ollows:


(,)=󰇟󰇝(,)󰇞∩(,)∩(,)󰇠 (1)
Ini ial Segmen a ion
Se e al segmen a ion algo i hms ha e been de eloped o e he yea s, howe e oceanog aphic
s uc u es a e di icul o be p ope ly de ec ed wi h con en ional algo i hms. A e es ing a a ie y o
echniques and analysing hei esul s wi h expe oceanog aphe s, he ollowing me hods o he
Senso s 2015, 15 8739
p elimina y eddy segmen a ion ha e been selec ed: K-means Clus e ing, Fuzzy K-means Clus e ing,
Mean Shi Clus e ing and Th esholding. In [30,31] a de ailed e alua ion o 36 au oma ic global and
local h esholding echniques was pe o med and he bes me hods belonging o di e en ca ego ies
(his og am shape-based, clus e ing-based, en opy-based, objec a ibu e-based, spa ial me hods, e c.)
we e inco po a ed o he eddy segmen a ion ool. In ou s udy, sa is ac o y esul s o segmen ma ine
s uc u es a e achie ed by echniques like Riddle , O su, Gaussian Mix u e Modelling, Pun o Li. In
pa icula , O su algo i hm p o ides an in e media e, ye accu a e, solu ion and i can be selec ed as a
comp omise echnique, p o iding obus ness and excellen esul s o he majo i y o images. A e he
applica ion o he segmen a ion algo i hm, we ge a bina y image co esponding o he Ini ial
Segmen ed Eddy (ISE):
(,) =

(,) (2)
Some examples o possible au oma ic segmen a ions a e included in Figu e 5. As i can be
app ecia ed, oceanog aphic s uc u es a e no simple o au oma ically de ec due o he ac ha
g adien s a e weak, gene a ing se e al unconnec ed bo de lines and making o g ea di icul y he
s uc u e iden i ica ion based on edge echniques; he p esence o noise, mainly due o a mosphe ic
phenomena; he low signal ecei ed a senso le el; and he s ong mo phological a ia ion ha
impedes an accu a e geome ic ep esen a ion and he absence o a alid analy ical model o
he s uc u es.
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Figu e 5. S uc u es de ec ed by di e en segmen a ion algo i hms: (a) K
d
p e-p ocessed
image y; (b) K-means; (c) Fuzzy K-Means; and (d) O su.
T ying a segmen a ion using manual h esholding echniques p o ides he esul s included in
Figu e 6a–c. I can be app ecia ed ha e en using a manual p ocedu e and adjus ing he K
d
h eshold o
di e en alues (0.04 o 0.06) i is no possible o achie e a he same ime he ine de ail o he
comple e ilamen s wi hou adding undesi ed lowe le els o K
d
.
Pos -P ocessing
The segmen ed image includes he eddy plus addi ional a e ac s due o he p esence o noise,
isola ed u bid wa e zones and he emaining cloud pixels no p ope ly masked p e iously. Thus, a
pos -p ocessing s ep is equi ed consis ing mainly on he applica ion o mo phological ope a o s [32].
Senso s 2015, 15 8740
A closing ope a o (∅), using a s uc u ing elemen ( ypically o size 3 pixels) o smoo h and connec
pixels, mainly belonging o b oken ilamen s; ollowed by a emo al o holes (RH) ope a ion usually
o ill cloudy pixels belonging o he eddy. The esul ing ini ial segmen ed eddy (
) is ob ained
as ollows:


(,)=󰇟∅󰇝(,)󰇞󰇠 (3)
An addi ional capabili y included in he me hodology is he elimina ion o isola ed objec s whose
size is smalle han a h eshold de ined by he use .
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Figu e 6. S uc u es de ec ed by manual h esholding algo i hms wi h global K
d
h eshold alues o : (a–c) 0.06, 0.05 and 0.04, espec i ely; (d) Segmen a ion desi ed by
he oceanog aphe s.
2.2.2. Eddy G owing
A e he p eceding asks, he s uc u e is iden i ied and, selec ing he co esponding pa ame e s, i
is possible o achie e di e en le els o segmen a ions o ge he desi ed eddy de ec ion.
Un o una ely, none o he es ed me hods is able o p oduce he esul s equi ed by ou
oceanog aphe s, as p esen ed in Figu e 6d, who wan o p ese e he co e o he eddy bu also o
pe ec ly delimi a e he eme ging ilamen s bu wi hou including noise associa ed o wa e wi h less
u bidi y su ounding i s co e. The p ecise delimi a ion o he ilamen s p o ides undamen al
in o ma ion abou he submesoscale a iabili y such as he ilamen a ion o he eddy no obse ed
be o e wi h such. In addi ion, such p ecise delimi a ion is essen ial o pe o m a compa ison o a model
ou come wi h obse a ional da a om emo e sensing image y.
To achie e his ine segmen a ion, a wo-s ep p ocedu e has been de eloped, as shown in Figu e 4.
I allows he applica ion o con olled g owing echniques bu only in egions whe e ilamen s appea .
The p ocedu e is as ollows:
Iden i ica ion o Poin s o G ow and Di ec ion
Fi s , he skele on (SK) o he segmen ed eddy is used o iden i y he poin s o g ow and i p o ides,
as well, he g owing di ec ion (see Figu e 7a in ed colou ). In his wo k, he skele on is ob ained by
Senso s 2015, 15 8747
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