Monitoring the surface area of the subtropical wetlands of northeastern Argentina using the Google Earth Engine Seguimiento de la extensión areal de los humedales subtropicales del noreste de Argentina mediante la aplicación de Google Earth Engine

SMICHOWKSI, HUMBERTO; CONTRERAS, FELIX IGNACIO; GIESE, ADRIANA CAROLINA

Investigaciones Geograficas (Spain)

Interuniversity Institute of Geography and University of Alicante

Lugar: Alicante; Año: 2022 p. 131 - 152

0213-4691

The study of water level fluctuations in wetlands in response to rainfall variability represents a starting point for their conservation and/or use as a sustainable resource. In this respect, by using Google Earth Engine, this contribution constitutes a case study of the spatio-temporal variation of the surface area of the subtropical wetlands in northeastern Argentina from 1990 to 2020 in five-year periods. For this purpose, we processed 931 Landsat scenes, generating cloud masks, and quality composites based on water indices, and extracted water covers using thresholding techniques. For climate analysis, we correlated direct pluviometric data, precipitation indices and the effects of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. The results obtained accurately indicate a large difference between wet and dry times, with maximums exceeding 60% of the area covered with water and minimums of less than 5%. The findings also show that there is a direct relationship between rainfall amounts and surface water expanses and the system´s elasticity. The results are considered to be highly valuable for integrated water resources and risk management.