Radiometric Sensitivity Requirements for Detecting Live Coral and Seagrass Cover Using Spaceborne Imaging Spectroscopy

Detecting changes in coral and seagrass habitat composition from satellite imagery places exceptionally high demands on sensor design due to low underwater reflectance signals and variable water column conditions. Recent multispectral satellite-based attempts to assess such changes across large spatial extents illustrate this challenge through an inability to reliably distinguish live coral from algae, often resulting in broad confidence intervals. This study quantifies the radiometric sensitivity requirements for detecting 10% absolute changes in live coral and seagrass fractional cover from spaceborne imaging spectroscopy using representative parameters for an aquatic imaging spectrometer. The analysis combined representative benthic spectra with realistic, management-relevant co-occurrence scenarios informed by extensive regional knowledge and field measurements from Fiji, Australia, and the Solomon Islands to evaluate detection performance across depths from 0 to 30 m. We show that live coral is the most demanding of the benthic targets evaluated because of its low reflectance and spectral similarity to algal cover types, requiring SNRs of approximately 300–700 to detect 10% absolute changes in cover at depths up to 10 m. In contrast, the greater spectral separation between seagrass and adjacent sandy substrates allows detection of 10% absolute changes in cover to depths exceeding 20 m in clear water. These results highlight the importance of high radiometric sensitivity and contiguous spectral sampling for future aquatic imaging spectrometers intended to monitor benthic change. Approaches that increase effective SNR, such as ground motion compensation (GMC), can extend the depth and confidence with which changes in benthic composition are detected, supporting a transition from broad-area habitat mapping toward quantitative monitoring of benthic change from space.