Publications

Keys, TA; Scott, DT (2018). Monitoring volumetric fluctuations in tropical lakes and reservoirs using satellite remote sensing. LAKE AND RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT, 34(2), 154-166.

Abstract
Keys TA, Scott DT. 2017. Monitoring volumetric fluctuations in tropical lakes and reservoirs using satellite remote sensing. Lake Reserv Manage. 34:154166.Sustainable management of lakes and reservoirs is currently a major challenge in regions of the world with limited hydrologic data and monitoring equipment. Specifically, temporal variability of water storage is difficult to quantify and is often neglected in lake and reservoir management. Here, we present a high temporal resolution remote sensing technique for quantifying volumetric fluctuations in surface water bodies without any field data. For this study, we utilized Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery in conjunction with satellite radar altimetry from 2 altimetry databases to develop high frequency time series of storage variations in 10 large tropical surface water bodies. For 3 of the sites, altimetry-based water level (L) estimates were validated by in situ data from monitoring stations while estimates of surface area (A) and changes in water volume (V) were validated by bathymetric maps with corresponding LA and LV polynomial relationships. Results indicate that remotely sensed V estimates agree well with in situ measurements for 2 of the 3 water bodies. For the third, A and V estimates were greatly underestimated due to the coarse spatial resolution of MODIS. Our findings suggest that the presented methodology works well for lakes and reservoirs with well-defined boundaries and low shoreline to surface area (S:A) ratios, in contrast to reservoirs with dendritic geometry and high S:A ratios. Overall, this method provides a free, user-friendly platform for monitoring and managing lakes and reservoirs.

DOI:
10.1080/10402381.2017.1402226

ISSN:
1040-2381