Monitoring wetland ditch water levels using landsat TM and ground-based measurements

Abstract

A methodology which makes use of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data to indirectly provide remotely sensed observations of water levels within channels and ditches in wetlands is presented. Using multi-temporal Landsat TM imagery and simultaneous ground-based measurements of water levels, statistical relationships are established between satellite-derived effective wet-ditch widths and measured water levels in the drainage systems of three European wetlands. These relationships can thereafter be used to estimate historical ditch water levels and to monitor contemporary ditch water levels in the wetlands. The study shows that satellite imagery has much to offer in providing a historical perspective of wetland hydrology that otherwise would not be available, in monitoring changes in the hydrological regime of wetlands, and in providing complimentary approaches to field monitoring.