Evaluation of ERTS data for certain hydrological uses

Abstract

The author has identified the following significant results. Mapping of snow cover using ERTS-1 data proved to be six times faster than that done from U-2 photography. However, NOAA-2 VHRR snow cover mapping was almost as fast as ERTS-1, and it is available more frequently. Ice conditions in the Great Lakes can be readily determined by ERTS-1. Ice features characteristic of thawing conditions such as rotten ice, lack of pressure ridges, brash belts, and compacted ice edges can be identified. A great decrease in apparent reflectivity in band 7 as compared to band 4 also indicated melting conditions. Using sidelap from two successive ERTS-1 images of Lake Erie (February 17 and 18, 1973) a measure of ice movement was made, agreeing closely with the estimate from conventional methods. The same imagery permitted tentative identification of the following features: shuga, light and dark nilas, fast ice, icefoot, ice breccia, brash ice, fracturing, ridging, rafting, sastrugi, thaw holes, rotten ice, ice islands, dried ice puddles, hummocked ice, and leads.