Long-Term Water Quality Monitoring: Using Satellite Images for Temporal and Spatial Monitoring of Thermal Pollution in Water Resources

Abstract

Thermal pollution reduces water quality through any process that leads to a change in the water’s ambient temperature. Karun is one of the most relevant sources of water supply in Iran, and its pollution, created by industrial, urban, and agricultural issues, has been one of the most critical challenges throughout the last few years. As the water temperature rises, the amount of dissolved oxygen in it decreases, thereby affecting the entire ecosystem associated with it. Drainage of urban and industrial runoff into surface water sources can increase the water temperature. Dams also constitute a significant part, modifying spatial patterns of temperature along river routes and causing thermal contamination. In this paper, the thermal pollution of the Karun River was assessed, and regions along this river with unusually raised water temperatures were identified and compared over 20 years. By analyzing the results, it can be found that the thermal pollution from dams has a significant impact on the downstream river environment and ecology that is considerably relevant during summer periods, showing average decreases of 3 degrees Celsius immediately beyond the dams’ locations (from 41 degrees Celsius upstream dams to 38 degrees Celsius beyond them) or even bigger (reductions of 13 degrees Celsius in one of the studied dams). Hence, our results showed that water temperature is colder downstream in the hot seasons of the year than upstream of the dams. The results suggest that the usage of remote sensing data effectively could complement collected data from ground-based sensors to estimate water temperature and to identify pollution areas. It provides experts with spatially extensive and highly synchronized data.

Satellite-Based Water Quality Assessment of the Beijing Section of the Grand Canal: Implications for SDG11.4 Evaluation

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“…In light of these challenges, quantitative remote sensing research to evaluate the TLI of rivers holds substantial practical value [15]. Research has demonstrated that combining remote sensing monitoring with conventional ground-based monitoring techniques can offer a more comprehensive view of water environmental conditions, crucial for effective watershed management [22][23][24]. This integrated approach enables more effective monitoring of the trophic level of water bodies, with remote sensing serving acting as a vital supplement to the design and enhancement of ground-based monitoring systems [25,26].…”

Threats of Contamination of Drinking Water Sources and Preventive Enhancement of Protection Efforts of these Sources in the Case Study of the Czech Republic

“…Therefore, the monitoring of water bodies and the subsequent assessment of possible risks rises in importance. This problem is being solved and, simultaneously, the need of using new and economically more effective monitoring methods used to check the decrease of polluting sources is emphasized [30]. A major segment is the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems, where tools, indicators, and approaches currently used in the field of aquatic ecosystems and their potential contamination play an important role [31].…”