Exploring Innovative Methods to Study Inland Waters Using Remote Sensing

Abstract

Inland water bodies such as lakes and rivers provide vital freshwater to both human communities and ecosystems. However, these water bodies are increasingly altered by anthropogenic activities. Deforestation, agriculture, and structures such as dams can all have serious impacts on both water quality and channel form downstream. Climate change is affecting water patterns globally and is worsening both droughts and flooding. As humans continue to alter the global water cycle, having the ability to track these changes on large scales is key to better understanding their impacts and how to mitigate potential harm. In situ measurements are often time consuming and costly, and quickly become infeasible at large spatiotemporal scales. Satellite remote sensing offers a unique opportunity to study these inland water bodies at large spatial scales and with temporally frequent data. For many decades, satellite data has been used to study inland waters both in terms of water extent and water quality. However, despite the increasing quantity of satellites and thus increasing spatial and temporal coverage, most satellites are not optimized for the observation of inland waters. Inland water bodies require unique observations as they regularly experience fast and significant changes (e.g., flood events) and are often relatively small in size. Future satellites have the potential to greatly improve our observations of inland waters, and understanding their mission requirements is of great importance. However, as the field of remote sensing of inland waters continues to expand, understanding the full capabilities of existing satellites is of equal consequence. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to explore innovative and novel approaches to studying inland water using satellite remote sensing. I explore the current and future capabilities of satellite remote sensing by 1) quantifying the necessary satellite specifications to optimally observe total suspended solids in rivers, 2) examining the potential of using satellite green lidar to estimate turbidity in inland water bodies, and 3) exploring the unique applications of the new SWOT satellite in the field of fluvial geomorphology.