Presentation Title
Remote Sensing of Suspended Sediment in the Lake Champlain Basin
Abstract
The presence of excess suspended sediment has been recognized as an impairment to water quality throughout the Lake Champlain Basin. High levels of suspended sediment can contribute to stressors such as bank erosion and river encroachment, as well as degrading surface water quality. Suspended sediments are a primary constituent for transporting phosphorus, which can initiate large algal blooms and is very common across Lake Champlain. As the State of Vermont continues to implement strategies to reduce phosphorus loading, the need for efficient water quality monitoring is a necessity. The use of in-situ measurements have been commonly used to measure phosphorus and suspended sediment concentrations. However, large rivers and lakes are much more challenging to monitor given their larger cross-sections. They currently rely on time-intensive field sampling and testing. Therefore, additional methods to estimate suspended sediment efficiently and reliably are needed.
The project will evaluate the reliability of remote sensing techniques for measuring suspended sediment concentrations across the Lake Champlain Basin. The medium resolution satellites used for reflectance measurements are NASA’s Landsat 8 (30m resolution) and the ESA’s Sentinel 2 A/B (10-20m resolution). Data will be obtained via the VT Department of Environmental Conservation, Vermont EPSCoR, and USGS publicly available data portals. Utilizing GIS software we will identify pixel locations contained entirely within the boundaries of the large rivers and water bodies that will be lined up with site measurements for calibration of the satellite-based algorithms. The algorithm used will be a publicly available TSS model developed by NASA named SOLID, specifically designed for estimating TSS concentrations using spectral reflectance. This approach offers a promise for more widespread application of remote sensing techniques for measuring water quality constituents for inland bodies of water.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Scott Hamshaw
Secondary Mentor Name
Luis Garcia
Faculty/Staff Collaborators
Scott Hamshaw (Professor Mentor), Luis Garcia (Professor Mentor), Noah McAllister (Research Assistant)
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
Program/Major
Environmental Engineering
Primary Research Category
Engineering & Physical Sciences
Remote Sensing of Suspended Sediment in the Lake Champlain Basin
The presence of excess suspended sediment has been recognized as an impairment to water quality throughout the Lake Champlain Basin. High levels of suspended sediment can contribute to stressors such as bank erosion and river encroachment, as well as degrading surface water quality. Suspended sediments are a primary constituent for transporting phosphorus, which can initiate large algal blooms and is very common across Lake Champlain. As the State of Vermont continues to implement strategies to reduce phosphorus loading, the need for efficient water quality monitoring is a necessity. The use of in-situ measurements have been commonly used to measure phosphorus and suspended sediment concentrations. However, large rivers and lakes are much more challenging to monitor given their larger cross-sections. They currently rely on time-intensive field sampling and testing. Therefore, additional methods to estimate suspended sediment efficiently and reliably are needed.
The project will evaluate the reliability of remote sensing techniques for measuring suspended sediment concentrations across the Lake Champlain Basin. The medium resolution satellites used for reflectance measurements are NASA’s Landsat 8 (30m resolution) and the ESA’s Sentinel 2 A/B (10-20m resolution). Data will be obtained via the VT Department of Environmental Conservation, Vermont EPSCoR, and USGS publicly available data portals. Utilizing GIS software we will identify pixel locations contained entirely within the boundaries of the large rivers and water bodies that will be lined up with site measurements for calibration of the satellite-based algorithms. The algorithm used will be a publicly available TSS model developed by NASA named SOLID, specifically designed for estimating TSS concentrations using spectral reflectance. This approach offers a promise for more widespread application of remote sensing techniques for measuring water quality constituents for inland bodies of water.