Mapping and monitoring lakes intra-annual variability in semi-arid regions: a case of study in Patagonian plains (Argentina).

SCORDO, F.; BOHN, V.Y.; PICCOLO, M.C.; PERILLO, G.M.E.

Water

MDPI

Lugar: Ginebra; Año: 2018 vol. 10 p. 1 - 17

2073-4441

In arid and semi-arid regions, the climatic impact on lakes is especially critical, as theyare scarce and play an important role as a primary source of the water supply. However, in someextended regions with those climatic conditions, the implementation of an in-situ monitoring programof high temporal resolution of the water resources is not possible due to its logistics and costs.Thus, developing an accurate methodology to monitor the evolution of water bodies is especiallycritical in these areas. For example, with remote sensing images, lake area fluctuation can be analyzed.The main objective of this study was to identify an efficient remote sensing methodology, with atemporal resolution that allows for analyzing intra-annual lake area variations. For detecting lakesarea changes six Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS, National Aeronauticsand Space Administration products) indexes and layers were analyzed and compared. We appliedthe methods to the Musters (deep) and Colhué Huapí (shallow) lakes, which are located in theextra-Andean Argentine Patagonia plains (semi-arid region). The MODIS products have not beenaccurate to detect the areal variations of the deep lake, probably because the spatial resolution ofthese images is not specific enough to identify the slight variation that these lakes usually haveon the extension of their area. On the contrary, MODIS products have been accurate to analyzethe areal changes of the shallow lake. The Colhué Huapí lake area fluctuated between 105 km2 to797 km2. The Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (a combination of green and middleinfrared electromagnetic spectrum), as well as two bands that include a different range of middleinfrared surface reflectance (2105?2155 nm; 1628?1652 nm), were the most accurate to identify thevariation of the lake area.