Abstract
Recently, the satellite images have been used in remote sensing allowing
observations with high temporal and spatial distribution. The use of
water indices has proved to be an effective methodology in the
monitoring of surface water resources. However, precise or automatic
methodologies using satellite imagery to determine reservoir volumes are
lacking. To fulfil that gap, this methodology proposes 3 stages: use
Google Earth Engine (GEE) to select images; automatically calculate
flooded surface areas applying water indices; determine the volume
stored in reservoirs over those years based on the relation between the
flooded area and the stored volume. The method was applied in four
reservoirs and contemplate Landsat 4 and 5 ETM and Landsat 8 OLI. For
the calculation of the flooded area the NDWI Indexes (McFeeters, 1996;
Gao, 1996), and the MNDWI index (Xu, 2006) were applied and tested. The
estimation of stored volume of water was made based on the area indices
and a cross-check between real stored volume and calculated volume was
made. Finally, an analysis on the selection of the best fit water
indices was made. The results of every case studies herein displayed
showed a quantifiable proficiency and reliability for quite a varied
natural conditions. As a conclusion, this methodology could be seen as a
tool for water resources management in developing countries, and not
only, to measure automatically trends of stored volumes and its relation
with the precipitation, and could eventually be extended to other types
of surface water bodies, as lakes and coastal lagoons.