Using thermal remote sensing as a tool for calibrating a hydrodynamic model in inland waters

Nima Pahlevan; Aaron D. Gerace; John R. Schott

doi:10.1117/12.887212

4 May 2011 Using thermal remote sensing as a tool for calibrating a hydrodynamic model in inland waters

Nima Pahlevan, Aaron D. Gerace, John R. Schott

Proceedings Volume 8030, Ocean Sensing and Monitoring III; 80300I (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.887212
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2011, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Remote sensing has been proven as an effective tool for mapping and monitoring water quality in coastal/inland waters during the past two decades. In light of this, it can also be applied to calibrate hydrodynamic models which predict the distribution of river plumes and streams in coastal/inland waters. This research examines the capability of Landsat 7 thermal data to calibrate a 3D hydrodynamic model by simulating a moderate sized river plume discharging into Lake Ontario, USA. The model is provided with a set of input variables and involves modeling material transport using a finite-differencing method to generate profiles of temperature within the water column as well as a surface temperature map. In this way, a Look-Up-Table (LUT) of multiple scenarios of environmental conditions was built by running the hydrodynamic model for several simulation hours. This process resulted in various shapes of the thermal plumes, one of which represented the best output. This was determined by making a comparison with atmospherically compensated Landsat 7 thermal data in the surface temperature domain. The best agreement with the remotely sensed data was found through an optimization in which an error function, calculated between the model outputs and the imagery, was minimized. The root-mean-squared-error (RMSE), computed between the best model output and the observed imagery on a pixel-by-pixel basis, indicated a good fit with less than half of a degree, approximately 0.34° C, on average, over the plume area. This research demonstrates the potential of existing Landsat data and the corresponding method to monitor river plumes of moderate size in inland/coastal environments.

Citation Download Citation

Nima Pahlevan, Aaron D. Gerace, and John R. Schott "Using thermal remote sensing as a tool for calibrating a hydrodynamic model in inland waters", Proc. SPIE 8030, Ocean Sensing and Monitoring III, 80300I (4 May 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.887212

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