Open AccessEstimation of water volume in ungauged, dynamic floodplain lakes
Author(s) -
Zhiqiang Tan,
John M. Mélack,
Y Li,
X Liu,
Бин Чэн,
Q Zhang
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
environmental research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.37
H-Index - 124
ISSN - 1748-9326
DOI - 10.1088/1748-9326/ab82cb
Subject(s) - floodplain , environmental science , biogeochemical cycle , hydrology (agriculture) , surface water , water storage , water level , water resources , geology , ecology , oceanography , geography , environmental engineering , geotechnical engineering , biology , cartography , inlet
Lakes play a crucial role in retaining water and altering biogeochemical processes on floodplains. Existing strategies and algorithms for estimation of water storage are insufficient for dynamic floodplain lakes due to the scarcity of available observations. Combining a time series of open water area with a fine spatial-temporal resolution by integrating Landsat and MODIS observations of Poyang Lake (China) with digital elevation models, and limited gauge data, generated water storage estimates as a function of surface hydrological connectivity. Despite possessing a relatively small portion of Poyang Lake’s water volume, the floodplain lakes occupy a large part of the surface water area, especially in the low water period. Floodplain lakes, in particular, those distributed in the upper delta contribute to relieving drought conditions in Poyang Lake.