Abstract
Lake level variation is an important hydrological indicator of water balance, biodiversity and climate change in drainage basins. This paper illustrates the use of moderate-resolution imaging spectroadiometer (MODIS) data to characterize complex water level variation in Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China. MODIS data were used in conjunction with in situ topographic data, otherwise known as the land-water contact method, to investigate the potential of this hybrid water level spatiotemporal variability measurement technique. An error analysis was conducted to assess the derived water level relative to gauge data. Validation results demonstrated that the land-water contact method can satisfactorily capture spatial patterns and seasonal variations in water level fluctuations. The correlation coefficient ranged from 0.684 to 0.835, the root-mean-square-error from 0.79 m–1.09 m, and the mean absolute bias error from 0.65 m to 0.86 m for five main gauge stations surrounding the lake. Additionally, seasonal and interannual variations in the lake’s water level were revealed in the MODIS-based results. These results indicate that the land-water contact method has the potential to be applied in mapping water level changes in Poyang Lake. This study not only provides a foundation for basic hydrological and ecological studies, but is also valuable for the conservation and management of water resources over gauge-sparse regions in Poyang Lake.
Highlights
Freshwater lakes are valuable resources for humans and have important regional ecological and environmental functions, such as climate regulation, flood/drought control and the provision of wildlife habitats [1,2,3]
Radar altimetry is a promising technique for directly detecting water level [14,15,16], but the application of this technique to monitor inland waters has several limitations [17,18]
This study investigated spatiotemporal variations in water levels across the largest freshwater lake in China using moderate-resolution imaging spectroadiometer (MODIS) data collected from 2000–2012
Summary
Freshwater lakes are valuable resources for humans and have important regional ecological and environmental functions, such as climate regulation, flood/drought control and the provision of wildlife habitats [1,2,3]. Lake level variation is an important indicator of the water balance in drainage basins but it is a useful indicator of climate change [4,5]. Several studies have used space-borne radar interferometry to detect water level variations over large lakes, rivers and floodplains [25,26,27,28]. This technique provides a measure of relative but not absolute changes in water level [29].
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