Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID NY_2023_Salehi

Satellite-based monitoring and web-based visualization of sediment and turbidity of the Finger Lakes

Institute: New York
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $35,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $36,143

Principal Investigators: Bahram Salehi

Project Summary: Building on our remote sensing of water quality experience, this study aims to address some of the problems related to water clarity and sedimentation transport to Finger Lakes utilizing satellite data and machine learning methods. In particular, the project will focus on monitoring the lakes’ turbidity and water clarity multiple times during summer through satellite observations. The results will be multi-temporal maps showing water quality parameters including turbidity and water clarity of Finger Lakes. The maps will be disseminated through publications, webinars, and workshops as well as through an online- geographic information system (GIS) portal accessible to the stakeholders and possibly to the public. This research and its result will raise regulators, authorities, stakeholders, and public awareness about the Finger Lakes water quality and specifically contribute to the Great Lakes Action Agenda environmental justice actions. The results will improve understanding the lake-land interactions and specifically the disadvantaged communities that are disproportionally impacted by the environmental and water quality changes affected by environmental justice indicators.