Multi-temporal Assessment of Connecticut Lake Water Clarity Using Landsat Satellite Imagery Multi-temporal Assessment of Connecticut Lake Water Clarity Using Landsat Satellite Imagery Basic Information Title: Multi-temporal Assessment of Connecticut Lake Water Clarity Using Landsat Satellite Imagery Project Number: 2010CT208B Start Date: 3/1/2010 End Date: 2/28/2011 Funding Source: 104B Congressional District: District 2 Research Category: Water Quality Focus Category: Water Quality, Surface Water, None Descriptors: None Principal Investigators: Daniel Civco, James D Hurd Multi-temporal Assessment of Connecticut Lake Water Clarity Using Landsat Satellite Imagery1 Multi-temporal Assessment of Connecticut Lake Water Clarity Using Landsat Satellite Imagery Progress Report May 2011 Daniel Civco – Principal Investigator James Hurd – Co-Investigator Center for Landuse Education and Research (CLEAR) Department of Natural Resources and the Environment The University of Connecticut 1376 Storrs Road Storrs, CT 06269-4087 (p) 860-486-4610, (f) 860-486-5408
[email protected] [email protected] RESEARCH PROBLEM Connecticut has over 1,000 lakes and ponds larger than 5 acres in area. These water bodies provide important recreational opportunities, aesthetic values, and ecosystem services that contribute to the quality of life, environment, and economy of the state. Over the past 400 years, Connecticut has undergone significant alterations to its landscape. As a result of these mostly anthropogenic activities, including clearing of forests, agriculture, and urban and rural development, there have been significant impacts to the water quality of Connecticut’s lakes and ponds. While a natural process, the eutrophication of lakes caused by excess nutrient export in runoff has been, and continues to be, a pervasive problem (Siver et al., 1996).