Assessing water quality by remote sensing in small lakes: the case study of Monticchio lakes in southern Italy

In order to investigate bio-physical parameters associated with water quality, a model based on calibrated and atmospherically corrected Remotely Sensed data has been implemented. Secchi Disk depth and chlorophyll concentration parameters were estimated in a system of very small lakes at Monticchio (Italy) using Landsat TM data. The model was developed through the use of stepwise multiple regression and gave high coefficients of determination (R(2) = 0.82 for Secchi Disk and R(2) = 0.72 for chlorophyll). Values for water transparency were strongly correlated with chlorophyll a concentration: a linear relationship between the two parameters showed a high coefficient of determination (R(2) = 0.93). The case study shows that the application of this approach on lakes with a small surface area, such as the Monticchio lakes in Southern Italy, is effective and the developed model well describes the water quality parameters.