Evaluation of reconstructed multi-decadal lake levels using ICESat, ICESat-2, and Landsat satellites
Authors/Creators
- 1. University of Colorado Boulder
- 2. Kansas State University
- 3. University of Washington
- 4. Laboratoire d'Études en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales (LEGOS
- 5. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Description
Overview: This dataset contains lake hypsometry and time-varying lake levels (1992-2018) for 342 lakes worldwide with sizes ranging from 1 to 81,844 km2. The method is described in detail in Yao et al., Water Resources Research (in review), but a quick overview is provided here.
1. We developed a proxy-based approach to reconstruct global-scale, multi-decadal lake levels using water areas and hypsometric curves.
2. We depended on elevation measurements from laser altimeters ICESat and ICESat-2 and water areas from Landsat imagery to construct lake hypsometry.
3. We used dynamic water masks to reduce the uncertainties in water levels derived from ICESat and ICESat-2.
4. We refined water areas mapped from Landsat based on topographic constraints on lake growth and shrinkage and levels from ICESat and ICESat-2.
5. We validated the method on 342 lakes against observed long-term water levels from in-situ gauges or satellite radar altimeters.
This dataset includes:
1. Lake hypsometry from Landsat, ICESat, and ICESat-2 satellites
2. Reconstructed water levels using Landsat-derived water areas and hypsometric curves
3. Reference level data