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A global inventory of lakes based on high‐resolution satellite imagery
Author(s) -
Verpoorter Charles,
Kutser Tiit,
Seekell David A.,
Tranvik Lars J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2014gl060641
Subject(s) - limnetic zone , biogeochemical cycle , satellite imagery , carbon cycle , physical geography , environmental science , satellite , abundance (ecology) , land cover , surface water , remote sensing , geology , hydrology (agriculture) , land use , littoral zone , ecosystem , geography , ecology , oceanography , biology , aerospace engineering , engineering , geotechnical engineering , environmental engineering
An accurate description of the abundance and size distribution of lakes is critical to quantifying limnetic contributions to the global carbon cycle. However, estimates of global lake abundance are poorly constrained. We used high‐resolution satellite imagery to produce a GLObal WAter BOdies database (GLOWABO), comprising all lakes greater than 0.002 km 2 . GLOWABO contains geographic and morphometric information for ~117 million lakes with a combined surface area of about 5 × 10 6 km 2 , which is 3.7% of the Earth's nonglaciated land area. Large and intermediate‐sized lakes dominate the total lake surface area. Overall, lakes are less abundant but cover a greater total surface area relative to previous estimates based on statistical extrapolations. The GLOWABO allows for the global‐scale evaluation of fundamental limnological problems, providing a foundation for improved quantification of limnetic contributions to the biogeochemical processes at large scales.