View from above: NASA funds pioneering Tennessee River study by UTC & Ole Miss professors

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Sometimes, it's good to examine something from close up.

Other times, it's best to get perspective from a few thousand feet up.

Professors at the University of Chattanooga (UTC) and University of Mississippi will soon be opting for the latter choice, thanks to funding provided by NASA.

The professors are getting $300,000 from the space agency for a study that aims to find a way to determine water quality from space.

Associate Professor Azad Hossain, an environmental geoscientist in the UTC Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science, is heading the project called “Remote Sensing of Water Quality in the Tennessee River.”

While the water from the south Chickamauga lake might look pretty, UTC Associate Professor and Environmental Geoscientist Azad Hossain says there are quality concerns.

"The end product is a tool that will help us understand water quality in the Tennessee River using satellite observation," Hossain says.

With the grant money, Hossain and his counterpart at Ole Miss will use satellite imagery to detect water quality in the Tennessee River.

The hope is that what they learn about the Tennessee River can apply to any inland water body.

“We're going to use the satellite image and apply the model to estimate water quality," Hossain says.

Previously, satellite technology has provided a broad bird’s eye view of water quality.

So in order to understand and research inland water bodies, like the Tennessee River, Hossain started his own research using satellite observations and in field measurements.

“It’s not easy, so we have to be in the field.”

Finding one spot in particular

“The south Chickamauga creek."

With higher concern

"You can see the sediment plume that is coming from the south Chickamauga creek," Hossain says.

Adding that until now, there wasn’t a way to use satellite images to study water quality like this in this region.

Hossain is looking at Chattanooga's growth as the reasoning behind its current quality.

Now with the research findings, he hopes to help find a solution...

"There are ways to make the growth sustainable. So water quality is one of the critical aspects of that.”

But in order to make their research work, they must be in the water at the same time that the image is being taken to accurately estimate water quality. Adding that there is no other option.

"The most accurate approach to understand water quality is to go to the field and measure it or collect samples, bring them into the lab, and measure it," Hossain says.

The group will then be using their own measurements and NASA’s measurements to develop a global model. They will be back later this week to continue collecting their samples from the field.

The Tennessee River's water quality has long been a subject of debate.

We took a closer look at hidden pollutants in the river in a special report last year.

Hossain says other local organizations are interested with their research, including TDEC, TWRA, and the City of Chattanooga.