VJ128C2: Global Reservoir Water Storage from VIIRS Satellite

164 man-made reservoirs and regulated natural lakes are monitored for surface area, elevation, and water storage in an 8-day time series. The dataset is derived from VIIRS satellite imagery and pre-established area-elevation curves. It provides dam location coordinates and storage capacity estimates for each reservoir.

Use Cases

• Monitoring reservoir water storage changes over time based on the 8-day time series.
• Analyzing the relationship between surface area and elevation using the pre-established A-E curves.
• Mapping dam locations and associated reservoir characteristics for regional water resource assessments.
• Validating and improving satellite-based water classification algorithms, particularly for issues like ice coverage.

Strengths

• Covers a specific, inventoried set of 164 water bodies globally.
• Provides a consistent 8-day temporal resolution for tracking changes.
• Integrates multiple data sources: VIIRS satellite reflectance and pre-established area-elevation curves.

Limitations

• Known issues with accuracy in high-latitude regions and during lake ice coverage, which can cause overestimation.
• Column details and exact row counts are not provided in the available metadata.
• The 'last updated' date is in the future (2026-04-09), indicating a potential metadata error.

Provenance

Source

NOAA-20 VIIRS satellite (VJ109H1 surface reflectance product) and pre-established area-elevation curves.

Collection Method

Satellite image classification of near-infrared reflectance combined with modeled curves.

Freshness

2026-04-09 20:46:30.683747

Geography

Global