Remote sensing of suspended sediment concentration, flow velocity, and lake recharge in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada
The transport of fine sediment, carried in suspension by water, is central to the hydrology, geomorphology, and ecological functioning of river floodplains and deltas. An extensive new field data set for the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), Canada quantifies robust positive relationships between in situ...
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2009
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ftcarolinadr:cdr.lib.unc.edu:jh344344t 2023-06-11T04:10:07+02:00 Remote sensing of suspended sediment concentration, flow velocity, and lake recharge in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada Pavelsky, T.M. Smith, L.C. College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Geological Sciences 2009 https://doi.org/10.17615/h3w9-cc79 https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/w3763h32j?file=thumbnail https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/w3763h32j English eng Blackwell Publishing Ltd https://doi.org/10.17615/h3w9-cc79 https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/w3763h32j?file=thumbnail https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/w3763h32j http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Water Resources Research, 45(11) flow velocity lake water concentration (composition) Alberta sediment transport flow pattern floodplain water temperature recharge near infrared ASTER SPOT suspended sediment Canada delta Peace-Athabasca Delta turbidity Article 2009 ftcarolinadr https://doi.org/10.17615/h3w9-cc79 2023-05-28T21:02:25Z The transport of fine sediment, carried in suspension by water, is central to the hydrology, geomorphology, and ecological functioning of river floodplains and deltas. An extensive new field data set for the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), Canada quantifies robust positive relationships between in situ suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and remotely sensed visible/near-infrared reflectance. These relationships are exploited using SPOT and ASTER satellite images to map suspended sediment concentrations across the PAD for four days in 2006 and 2007, revealing strong variations in water sources and flow patterns, including flow reversals in major distributaries. Near-daily monitoring with 276 MODIS satellite images tracks hydrologic recharge of floodplain lakes, as revealed by episodic infusions of sediment-rich water from the Athabasca River. The timing and magnitude of lake recharge are linked to springtime water level on the Athabasca River, suggesting a system sensitive to changes in river flow regime. Moreover, recharge timing differentiates lakes that are frequently and extensively recharged from those recharged more rarely. Finally, we present a first estimation of river flow velocity based on remotely sensed SSC, though saturation may occur at velocities >0.6 m/s. Viewed collectively, the different remote sensing methodologies presented here suggest strong value for visible/near-infrared remote sensing of suspended sediment to assess hydrologic and sediment transport processes in complex flow environments. Field observations including nephelometric turbidity, specific conductivity, water temperature, Secchi disk depth, suspended sediment concentration, and water level are archived at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center for Biogeochemical Dynamics (available at http://daac.ornl.gov// HYDROCLIMATOLOGY/guides/PAD.html). Article in Journal/Newspaper Athabasca River Carolina Digital Repository (UNC - University of North Carolina) Athabasca River Canada Peace-Athabasca Delta ENVELOPE(-111.502,-111.502,58.667,58.667) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Carolina Digital Repository (UNC - University of North Carolina) |
op_collection_id |
ftcarolinadr |
language |
English |
topic |
flow velocity lake water concentration (composition) Alberta sediment transport flow pattern floodplain water temperature recharge near infrared ASTER SPOT suspended sediment Canada delta Peace-Athabasca Delta turbidity |
spellingShingle |
flow velocity lake water concentration (composition) Alberta sediment transport flow pattern floodplain water temperature recharge near infrared ASTER SPOT suspended sediment Canada delta Peace-Athabasca Delta turbidity Pavelsky, T.M. Smith, L.C. Remote sensing of suspended sediment concentration, flow velocity, and lake recharge in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada |
topic_facet |
flow velocity lake water concentration (composition) Alberta sediment transport flow pattern floodplain water temperature recharge near infrared ASTER SPOT suspended sediment Canada delta Peace-Athabasca Delta turbidity |
description |
The transport of fine sediment, carried in suspension by water, is central to the hydrology, geomorphology, and ecological functioning of river floodplains and deltas. An extensive new field data set for the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), Canada quantifies robust positive relationships between in situ suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and remotely sensed visible/near-infrared reflectance. These relationships are exploited using SPOT and ASTER satellite images to map suspended sediment concentrations across the PAD for four days in 2006 and 2007, revealing strong variations in water sources and flow patterns, including flow reversals in major distributaries. Near-daily monitoring with 276 MODIS satellite images tracks hydrologic recharge of floodplain lakes, as revealed by episodic infusions of sediment-rich water from the Athabasca River. The timing and magnitude of lake recharge are linked to springtime water level on the Athabasca River, suggesting a system sensitive to changes in river flow regime. Moreover, recharge timing differentiates lakes that are frequently and extensively recharged from those recharged more rarely. Finally, we present a first estimation of river flow velocity based on remotely sensed SSC, though saturation may occur at velocities >0.6 m/s. Viewed collectively, the different remote sensing methodologies presented here suggest strong value for visible/near-infrared remote sensing of suspended sediment to assess hydrologic and sediment transport processes in complex flow environments. Field observations including nephelometric turbidity, specific conductivity, water temperature, Secchi disk depth, suspended sediment concentration, and water level are archived at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center for Biogeochemical Dynamics (available at http://daac.ornl.gov// HYDROCLIMATOLOGY/guides/PAD.html). |
author2 |
College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Geological Sciences |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pavelsky, T.M. Smith, L.C. |
author_facet |
Pavelsky, T.M. Smith, L.C. |
author_sort |
Pavelsky, T.M. |
title |
Remote sensing of suspended sediment concentration, flow velocity, and lake recharge in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada |
title_short |
Remote sensing of suspended sediment concentration, flow velocity, and lake recharge in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada |
title_full |
Remote sensing of suspended sediment concentration, flow velocity, and lake recharge in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Remote sensing of suspended sediment concentration, flow velocity, and lake recharge in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Remote sensing of suspended sediment concentration, flow velocity, and lake recharge in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada |
title_sort |
remote sensing of suspended sediment concentration, flow velocity, and lake recharge in the peace-athabasca delta, canada |
publisher |
Blackwell Publishing Ltd |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.17615/h3w9-cc79 https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/w3763h32j?file=thumbnail https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/w3763h32j |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-111.502,-111.502,58.667,58.667) |
geographic |
Athabasca River Canada Peace-Athabasca Delta |
geographic_facet |
Athabasca River Canada Peace-Athabasca Delta |
genre |
Athabasca River |
genre_facet |
Athabasca River |
op_source |
Water Resources Research, 45(11) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.17615/h3w9-cc79 https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/w3763h32j?file=thumbnail https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/w3763h32j |
op_rights |
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17615/h3w9-cc79 |
_version_ |
1768384372541489152 |