Satellite and airborne remote sensing of gross primary productivity in boreal Alaskan lakes

In terrestrial and marine ecosystems, remote sensing has been used to estimate gross primary productivity (GPP) for decades, but few applications exist for shallow freshwater ecosystems.Here we show field-based GPP correlates with satellite and airborne lake color across a range of optically and lim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Research Letters
Main Authors: Catherine Kuhn, Matthew Bogard, Sarah Ellen Johnston, Aji John, Eric Vermote, Rob Spencer, Mark Dornblaser, Kim Wickland, Rob Striegl, David Butman
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2020
Subjects:
freshwater ecosystems
Google Earth Engine
boreal
gross primary productivity
Landsat-8
Sentinel-2
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
TD1-1066
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Science
Q
Physics
QC1-999
Arctic
Phytoplankton
Alaska
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aba46f
https://doaj.org/article/54e4362bab7d4e538d870915c64c9203
Description
Summary:In terrestrial and marine ecosystems, remote sensing has been used to estimate gross primary productivity (GPP) for decades, but few applications exist for shallow freshwater ecosystems.Here we show field-based GPP correlates with satellite and airborne lake color across a range of optically and limnologically diverse lakes in interior Alaska. A strong relationship between in situ GPP derived from stable oxygen isotopes (δ ^18 O) and space-based lake color from satellites (e.g. Landsat-8, Sentinel-2 and CubeSats) and airborne imagery (AVIRIS-NG) demonstrates the potential power of this technique for improving spatial and temporal monitoring of lake GPP when coupled with additional field validation measurements across different systems. In shallow waters clear enough for sunlight to reach lake bottoms, both submerged vegetation (macrophytes and algae) and phytoplankton likely contribute to GPP. The stable isotopes and remotely sensed shallow lake color used here integrate both components. These results demonstrate the utility of lake color as a feasible means for mapping lake GPP from remote sensing. This novel methodology estimates GPP from remote sensing in shallow lakes by combining field measurements of oxygen isotopes with airborne, satellite and CubeSat imagery. This use of lake color for providing insight into ecological processes of shallow lakes is recommended, especially for remote arctic and boreal landscapes.

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