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Satellite Radar and Laser Altimetry for Monitoring of Lake Water Level and Snow Accumulation in Arctic Regions

Shu, Song
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8531-1208
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1561394321584998

Abstract Details

2019, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Geography.
Thermokarst lakes are the most conspicuous features in the Arctic coastal regions that cover roughly 15% - 40 % percent of the area. Those lakes play as a critical niche in the local environment system and provide habitats for a great number of species. In the context of global warming, lakes are experiencing dramatic changes in recent decades. The lake water level and the snow cover atop the ice in the winter are two sensitive indicators of the local and global climate change. Monitoring the variations in lake water level and snow accumulation in Arctic regions could provide more insights of the global climate change and facilitate our understanding of their influences on local hydrological and ecological systems. However, there are very rare in situ observations of lake water levels and lake snow accumulations for the Arctic regions due to the remote locations and also the harsh environmental conditions. Satellite radar and laser altimetry measures elevation profiles of Earth’s surface at the global scale and offers an alternative to achieve the purpose. Most previous studies have focused on the application of satellite radar and laser altimetry on lakes at low or middle latitudes, with few of them discussing the applicability of these data to high-latitude lakes. In this research, I explored the capability of satellite radar and laser altimetry missions to monitor lake water levels and snow accumulation on frozen lakes in the Arctic coastal regions. The performances of Sentinel-3, the most recent satellite radar altimetry, on the retrieval of lake water levels were assessed particularly for high-latitude ice-covered lakes. The results showed that lake ice can greatly reduce the accuracy of Sentinel-3 observations. I developed a new empirical retracking algorithm that significantly improves the measurements and provide more reliable and consistent water level estimates for the ice-covered lakes. I examined the performances of ICESat/GLAS, the first and until now the only satellite laser altimetry, on the retrieval of lake surface elevations in Arctic regions. A novel probabilistic relaxation algorithm was then developed to correct and improve the laser altimetric measurements that were affected by the thin clouds, ice fogs and blowing snow in Arctic regions. The snow accumulations on frozen lake surfaces in the winter were then derived using the corrected ICESat repeat observations. As compared to the point-based in situ snow depth data, these relatively dense ICESat-derived snow accumulation estimates enable us to investigate its spatio-temporal variations across the Arctic coastal regions.
Hongxing Liu, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Richard Beck, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Kenneth Hinkel, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Emily Kang, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Tomasz Stepinski, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
145 p.
Geography
Satellite radar and laser altimetry; water levels; snow accumulation; Sentinel3; ICESatGLAS; altimetry waveform retracking

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Shu, S. (2019). Satellite Radar and Laser Altimetry for Monitoring of Lake Water Level and Snow Accumulation in Arctic Regions [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1561394321584998

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Shu, Song. Satellite Radar and Laser Altimetry for Monitoring of Lake Water Level and Snow Accumulation in Arctic Regions. 2019. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1561394321584998.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Shu, Song. "Satellite Radar and Laser Altimetry for Monitoring of Lake Water Level and Snow Accumulation in Arctic Regions." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1561394321584998

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1561394321584998
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.