MONITORING THE BAY OF BENGAL AS A BALLAST WATER EXCHANGEABLE SEA USING MODIS/AQUA

The study describes the monitoring of the Bay of Bengal as a ballast water exchangeable sea using MODIS/Aqua-derived diffuse attenuation coefficient (K(490)) synchronized with in situ ballast water sampling and analysis along the LNG carrier's route between Japan and Qatar from 2002 to 2005. Based on the relationship between K(490) and corresponding in situ plankton cell densities, the Bay of Bengal is recognized as a ballast water exchangeable sea to meet the regulation of ballast water performance standard of International Maritime Organization (IMO). Furthermore the Bay of Bengal with more than 200m depth and more than 200 nautical mile distance from shore is extracted based on the regulation of ballast water exchange area of IMO. However, an anomalously high K(490) area is found off the coast of Sri Lanka during the northeast monsoon in 2005, which corresponds higher cell densities than the criterion set by the regulation of IMO. The phenomenon of high cell density in the Bay of Bengal seems to be related with the phytoplankton bloom during the northeast monsoon. Seasonal and annual variability of phytoplankton bloom will be investigated to establish an early routing system for avoiding the high cell density area in advance.