Augmenting in situ lake level measurements with Earth observation satellites

In here, Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) altimeter data were used with MODIS snow cover maps to determine Ak？ehir Lake/wetland water levels which dried up in 2008. Since the water level dropped below the gage in 2004, the ICESAT-MODIS (ICEM)-based lake water levels could not be compared with gage levels. Instead, combined use of Landsat-based lake surface area studies and Ak？ehir Lake bathymetry (LAB) enabled ICEM assessment. ICEM and LAB differences are between -0.09m and 0.32m and close to the standard deviations (s.d.) of pure ICESat-based studies (0.02m-0.27m). The minimum and maximum water surface elevation changes of ICEM between consecutive winter and spring are 0.30m and 1.35m and are in the historical range. ICEM showed highest s.d. during October 2005, when the wind velocities were highest