Water Quality Gradients in an Upside-down River System
A CREW proposal submitted to NASA-ROSES-2012 A32: WATER: Remote Sensing of Water Quality (NNH12ZDA001N-WATER), $553,369, 1-3 mo/yr, 1/01/2013 – 12/31/2015.
I propose to explore the seasonal and spatial dynamics of water quality and temperature in the Klamath River system – specifically it’s lakes and reservoirs. My hypothesis is that reservoirs and lakes have both positive and negative effects on water quality depending on season and lake characteristics. This study will use hyperspectral imaging to quantify suspended sediment, algae and temperature dynamics and identify seasonal and spatial patterns, so as to gain an understanding into the driving physical processes. Select in-situ water quality “ground truth”, overlaid with handheld and aircraft-based hyperspectral imaging, and EO-1 and MODIS satellite overpasses will be used to track the time-space dynamics of Klamath system water quality over the last decade. Retrieval algorithms will be developed from these data, to arrive at robust multi-frequency relationships related to physical water quality parameters. Appropriate cloud clearing and atmospheric corrections will also be explored to maximize the water quality signal. This project directly addresses the NASA ROSES 2012 A.32 “Remote Sensing of Water Quality” solicitation goal 2.3 “Improving description of the link between optical and biogeochemical properties”, and is generally responsive to NASA’s goal of advancing the use of remote sensing to assess the quality of water of inland aquatic environments (e.g., rivers and lakes) and coastal regions.