Zhou, BT; Shang, MS; Feng, L; Shan, K; Feng, L; Ma, JR; Liu, XN; Wu, L (2020). Long-term remote tracking the dynamics of surface water turbidity using a density peaks -based classification: A case study in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China. ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS, 116, 106539.
Abstract
Surface water turbidity (SWT), as a low-cost proxy of surface suspended sediment, is important for characterizing the hydro-ecological process and light availability in the lake or reservoir ecosystem. In this study, we proposed the combined use of HJ-1 charge-coupled device imaging and field observation to track the long-term SWT dynamics with environmental changes in Lakes Gaoyang, Hanfeng, and Changshou of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China. In situ remote sensing reflectance spectra were utilized to develop the characteristic spectral indexes for the SWT estimation in different water optical classes separated by a density peaks-based classification. Significant correlations were found between the red-, four-band, band ratio spectral indexes and SWT (determination coefficient >0.71 and root-mean-square error <8.32 nephelometric turbidity unit), suggesting a crucial role of the class-specific retrieval models for the SWT estimation in optically complex waters. The proposed method was further used to monitor the spatio-temporal SWT dynamics over the three lakes from 2008 to 2019, demonstrating that the significant SWT decline in Lakes Gaoyang and Hanfeng and the relatively stable trend in Lake Changshou during the 11-year period. Specifically, the SWT decreasing trends may be attributed to the water level linkage mechanism of Three Gorges and Wuyang Dams. In addition, analyses with simultaneous environmental factors showed that the seasonal and inter-annual variations of SWT appear to be closely correlated with water level and rainfall. Long-term remote tracking of the SWT dynamics presented in this study could provide new insight and reference for reservoir management in the post-Three Gorges Project Era.
DOI:
10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106539
ISSN:
1470-160X