Inland water bodies in China: Features discovered in the long-term satellite data
Abstract
Inland water bodies (WBs) provide essential ecosystem services for human society, yet their characteristics and changes over large areas remain elusive. We used unprecedented data layers derived from Landsat imagery to quantify and decipher the spatial distributions and contemporary changes of WBs in China. The results shed light on the characteristics (e.g., abundance and size-abundance and shoreline-area relationships) and spatiotemporal dynamics of WBs. This study highlights the importance of using appropriate long-term satellite data to reveal the true properties and dynamics of WBs over large areas, which is essential for developing theories and understanding the predominant impacts of human activities and climate change on water resources not only in China but also in other regions of the world.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1910872116
- Bibcode:
- 2019PNAS..11625491F