Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS30 Remote Sensing and Technological Tools

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2001, Time: 9:45:00 AM

Location: Sandia/Santa Ana

Kloiber, S, M, Metropolitan Council, St. Paul, USA, steve.kloiber@metc.state.mn.us

Brezonik, P, L, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, USA, brezo001@tc.umn.edu

Bauer, M, E, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, USA, mbauer@mercury.forestry.umn.edu

A REMOTE SENSING METHOD FOR REGIONAL WATER CLARITY ASSESSMENT

Satellite imagery holds significant potential for enhancing regional monitoring and assessment of lake water quality and trophic conditions. Several previous investigations have demonstrated that reliable empirical relationships between satellite observations and near simultaneously collected ground observations can be developed. However, to the authors' knowledge, this assessment technique has not been incorporated into any lake monitoring program. This paper focuses on the application of a satellite-based assessment for a regional assessment of lake clarity. Ten Landsat Thematic Mapper images and four Multi-Spectral Scanner images of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, spanning a twenty-five year period (1973-1998), were analyzed. Multiple regression relationships between satellite spectral response were used to estimate Secchi depth transparency for nearly 500 lakes. Sixty-four (13.3%) of the evaluated lakes had significant temporal trends. Water clarity has increased for 33 lakes (6.8%) and decreased for 31 lakes (6.4%). While the clarity of most lakes in the study region changes very little, a few lakes have exhibited significant changes.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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