Optical remote detection of surface water quality for open ocean waters has been ongoing since the 1960's. This method of detection is much more challenging, and not yet standard practice, for the more optically complex inland and coastal waters. A series of empirically developed models were built relating remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) for Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imagery (CASI), acquired over both inland and coastal water bodies of the Cowichan River watershed in British Columbia, to concurrently sampled water parameter concentrations. The models predict concentrations of chlorophyll-a and its pheopigments (as a proxy signal of phytoplankton), coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and total suspended solids (TSS), using techniques including simple regression, step-wise regression, band ratios, derivative analysis, and fluorescence line height (FLH). The most statistically significant models were ultimately applied. Each of the models was found to be statistically significant, although confidence in the lake models and the CDOM model for the bay are limited due to potential chance correlations. The Chl-a and TSS models for Cowichan Bay were found to be acceptable based upon an understanding of the phenomenon being investigated. These two parameters were correlated to short blue wavelengths, where Chl-a is primarily correlated with absorption at 451 nm and TSS with scattering at 462nm. These findings provide support of the application of the standard configuration of MERIS bands as the common configuration for further coastal and inland water remote sensing studies.

This dissertation describes a proposed methodology for Cumulative Effects Assessment (CEA) with the purpose of improving the process by making it both more substantive and quantitative. The general principles of the approach include the following: use of effect-based analyses where selected Valued Component (VC) sensitivities are identified first and then effect pathways are determined building bottom-up linkages from VC sensitivities to potential stressors or combinations of stressors to effect drivers and forces behind the drivers. Models were developed based on statistical or historic trend analysis or literature review that predicted the responses of the VCs to changes in effect drivers. Further, scenarios of divergent futures were created that involved different developments of each effect driver or force, and finally the models were applied to each scenario to project the state of the studied VCs. A practical implementation was conducted to demonstrate the use of the proposed methods on future population trends of two anadromous salmon species from the Cowichan River, British Columbia, Chinook and Coho. The assessment was conducted for both early freshwater and marine phases of their life. For the freshwater phase, the assessment focused on two main factors affecting salmon survival, streamflow and stream temperature and established two main drivers affecting these stressors, land use and climate change, and two main forces behind these drivers, Local and Global human development driven change, respectively. Effects of stream temperature and streamflow on salmon freshwater survival were simulated using two models; one was based on Chinook freshwater survival correlations with stream temperature and was developed only for Chinook, and the other was based on literature-derived temperature and streamflow thresholds and was developed for both species. Connections between the stressors (stream temperature and streamflow) and drivers (land use and climate change) were established through a hydrologic model and stream temperature regression model. For the marine environment, models were created using Pearson correlation and stepwise regression analysis examining links between survival of Cowichan River Chinook and Strait of Georgia hatchery-raised and wild Coho and various environmental variables of the nearshore zone of Strait of Georgia and Juan de Fuca Strait. The models were applied to project future salmon survival under four future scenarios for 2050 that were created by combining two opposite scenarios of land use in the watershed, forest conservation and development, and two climate change scenarios, extreme and moderate. Scenario projections showed a decrease in overall (combined early freshwater marine) survival by 2050 for all three studied salmon populations. None of them are likely to survive in scenarios with extreme climate change, while scenarios with moderate climate change showed positive survival rates although lower than present-day baseline levels. Analysis also showed that land use management within the Cowichan River watershed can also affect freshwater survival of both Chinook and Coho and marine survival of Chinook through influence of river discharge on nearshore processes. However, our land-use management scenarios have considerably weaker effect than climate change on salmon survival. Therefore, we conclude that land use management alone is not sufficient to offset effects of climate change on salmon survival. / Graduate