Observation of lake current patterns using satellite images and comparison with results from numerical simulations

Six LANDSAT TM images of Lake Suwa, Japan, were processed to extract current patterns. The lake was almost completely covered with Aoko (phytoplankton bloom) in three summer images. But two spring images, which were after rainfall, showed dispersion patterns of suspended particles from a river. The directions of dispersion were the same as the local wind at the mouth of the river, but opposite at the middle of the lake. These patterns were compared with current patterns simulated by the numerical two-dimensional lake current model newly developed by the authors. It was suggested that the satellite can observe horizontal circulations in shallow lakes