Evaluating the feasibility of using Sentinel-2 imagery for water clarity assessment in a reservoir

BONANSEA, MATIAS; LEDESMA, MARÍA MICAELA; BAZAN, RAQUEL; FERRAL, ANABELLA; GERMAN, ALBA; O´MILL, PATRICIA; RODRIGUEZ, CLAUDIA; PINOTTI, LUCIO

JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2019 vol. 95

0895-9811

The new Sentinel-2 satellites present a significant scientific opportunity for the study of water quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the suitability of Sentinel-2 imagery for estimating and mapping Secchi disk transparency (SDT) in Río Tercero reservoir (Córdoba-Argentina). Field observations and a dataset of atmospherically corrected Sentinel-2 images were used to generate and validate an algorithm to estimate water clarity in the studied reservoir. As a real application of the used methodology, the validated algorithm was used to obtain a spatial representation of water clarity in the reservoir during sampling campaigns. Results demonstrate capabilities of Sentinel-2 mission to make a substantial contribution to the current assessment and understanding of aquatic systems by estimating and mapping a water quality characteristic.