10 Remote Sensing of Surface Water
GeoffKite l and Alain Pietronir0 2
IIntemational Water Management Institute, THAEM,
35660 Menemen, Izmir, Turkey
2National Water Research Institute, NHRC, Environment Canada,
II Innovation Blvd, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 3H5
10.1 Introduction
The rapid growth of population in many countries together with a generally increasing
standard of living is increasing demands on surface water for irrigation, industry and
urban water supply and is decreasing the quality of the available surface water
(Schultz and Barrett, 1989). Surface water may occur in liquid form as lakes, reservoirs and rivers and in its solid form as snow, glacier and river and lake ice. Remote
sensing has a major role to play in estimating the areal extent and water content of
both these phases. This chapter concentrates on the use of remote sensing to detect
and measure surface water in its liquid phase with brief diversions from this topic to
describe remotely-sensed measurements of related properties of surface water such
as sediment load and water quality.
Studies in the U.S.A. (e.g. Castruccio et aI., 1980; Rango, 1980; Carroll, 1985)
have suggested possible benefit/cost ratios ranging from 75: I to 100: I for using
remotely sensed data in hydrology and water resources. These estimates are based on
savings from flood prevention and improved planning of irrigation and hydro-electric
production, all of which require information on location and amounts of surface
water. Measurements of surface water extent taken at intervals of many years are also
useful for determining long term changes in water regimes (e.g. Foster and Parkinson,
1993; Birkett and Mason, 1995).
Unfortunately, as Schultz (1988) pointed out, satellite sensors do not measure hydrological data directly; the hydrology is obtained only after interpretation of the
measured electromagnetic radiation. In many cases the analysis of remotely sensed
data consists only of developing a regression equation between the desired information and the available pixel intensities. Such regressions are generally not applicable
beyond the time and space constraints of the original data and add little if anything
to our understanding of what is actually being measured. Apart from the direct
estimation of surface water characteristics from remotely sensed data, such data may
be used as inputs to hydrological models that may simulate river flows and lake levels
(Schultz, 1994, Kite and Pietroniro, 1996, and Schultz, 1996).
This chapter first describes the location and measurement of surface water-bodies
such as lakes, while briefly introducing some quality aspects of these water bodies
(sedimentation and water quality are described in more detail in Chaps. 12 and 13).
G. A. Schultz et al. (eds.), Remote Sensing in Hydrology and Water Management
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2000
GeoffKite l and Alain Pietronir0 2
IIntemational Water Management Institute, THAEM,
35660 Menemen, Izmir, Turkey
2National Water Research Institute, NHRC, Environment Canada,
II Innovation Blvd, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 3H5
10.1 Introduction
The rapid growth of population in many countries together with a generally increasing
standard of living is increasing demands on surface water for irrigation, industry and
urban water supply and is decreasing the quality of the available surface water
(Schultz and Barrett, 1989). Surface water may occur in liquid form as lakes, reservoirs and rivers and in its solid form as snow, glacier and river and lake ice. Remote
sensing has a major role to play in estimating the areal extent and water content of
both these phases. This chapter concentrates on the use of remote sensing to detect
and measure surface water in its liquid phase with brief diversions from this topic to
describe remotely-sensed measurements of related properties of surface water such
as sediment load and water quality.
Studies in the U.S.A. (e.g. Castruccio et aI., 1980; Rango, 1980; Carroll, 1985)
have suggested possible benefit/cost ratios ranging from 75: I to 100: I for using
remotely sensed data in hydrology and water resources. These estimates are based on
savings from flood prevention and improved planning of irrigation and hydro-electric
production, all of which require information on location and amounts of surface
water. Measurements of surface water extent taken at intervals of many years are also
useful for determining long term changes in water regimes (e.g. Foster and Parkinson,
1993; Birkett and Mason, 1995).
Unfortunately, as Schultz (1988) pointed out, satellite sensors do not measure hydrological data directly; the hydrology is obtained only after interpretation of the
measured electromagnetic radiation. In many cases the analysis of remotely sensed
data consists only of developing a regression equation between the desired information and the available pixel intensities. Such regressions are generally not applicable
beyond the time and space constraints of the original data and add little if anything
to our understanding of what is actually being measured. Apart from the direct
estimation of surface water characteristics from remotely sensed data, such data may
be used as inputs to hydrological models that may simulate river flows and lake levels
(Schultz, 1994, Kite and Pietroniro, 1996, and Schultz, 1996).
This chapter first describes the location and measurement of surface water-bodies
such as lakes, while briefly introducing some quality aspects of these water bodies
(sedimentation and water quality are described in more detail in Chaps. 12 and 13).
G. A. Schultz et al. (eds.), Remote Sensing in Hydrology and Water Management
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2000