Assessing the potential of integrating Landsat sensors for estimating chlorophyll-a concentration in a reservoir

Abstract

Landsat satellites, 5 and 7, have significant potential for estimating several water quality parameters, but to our knowledge, there are few investigations which integrate these earlier sensors with the newest and improved mission of Landsat 8 satellite. Thus, the comparability of water quality assessing across different Landsat sensors needs to be evaluated. The main objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of integrating Landsat sensors to estimate chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) in Río Tercero reservoir (Argentina). A general model to retrieve Chl-a was developed (R2 ¼ 0.88). Using observed versus predicted Chl-a values the model was validated (R2 ¼ 0.89) and applied to Landsat imagery obtaining spatial representations of Chl-a in the reservoir. Results showed that Landsat 8 can be combined with Landsat 5 and 7 to construct an empirical model to estimate water quality characteristics, such as Chl-a in a reservoir. As the number of available and upcoming sensors with open access will increase with time, we expect that this trend will certainly further promote remote sensing applications and serve as a valuable basis for a wide range of water quality assessments.