An analysis of the Lake Surface Water Temperature evolution of the world’s largest lakes during the years 2003-2020 using MODIS data

Abstract

The Lake Surface Water Temperature (LSWT) evolution is analysed in ten of the largest lakes in the world: Caspian Sea, Superior, Victoria, Huron, Michigan, Tanganyika, Baikal, Great Slave Lake, Erie and Ontario. The time span selected is 2003-2020 and the satellite product, MODIS Level 3 SST Thermal IR 8 Day 4km V2019.0. Results show warming trends ranging from 0.012⁰C/yr. in the Victoria Lake to 0.083 ⁰C/yr in the Baikal Lake. Results have been validated with the product MOD11L2 LSWT estimations for the years 2003-2014 in the Laurentian Great Lakes, obtaining correlations between 0.962 and a 0.998. The validation has been enlarged by considering Sentinel 3 observations from the Issyk-Kul lake, with a 0.99 correlation. The validation shows that the MODIS SST product is capable of estimating the LSWT parameter with a high precision.