Multi-satellite Sensor Data Fusion for Monitoring Rivers, Lakes, and Wetlands: Challenges and Progress

Abstract:

Changes in surface water extent, velocity, stage, and volume have important implications for climate, biogeochemistry, and habitat suitability. Changes in surface water impact water resource availability for energy, industry, agriculture, and potable uses. Growing population and evolving climate are stressing water resources and the environmental and food security that rely on them. Therefore, demand is increasing for improved data and information on the quantity of water in rivers, lakes, and wetlands at local to global scale. Particularly relative to other land cover types, changes in these characteristics of surface water can occur rapidly, making fine temporal resolution observation necessary. Increasing availability of satellite imagery holds promise for meeting these observational demands. Yet differences in instrument characteristics, observation strategies, and archiving/distribution policy present technical and practical challenges to the fusion of multi-sensor data for surface water monitoring. Some progress has been made through combined use of openly available optical and microwave sensors. Some standard products produced by government agencies represent harmonization of multiple satellite system inputs. And advances in machine learning, terrain data generation, spatial modeling, and high-performance computing are all contributing to advances in monitoring various aspects surface water, in some cases - in near-real time. Current interdisciplinary research illustrates challenges and recent progress in the monitoring of water extent, water stage, lake storage, streamflow, and wetland inundation status for resource management and hazards response.