Retrival of total suspended matter (TSM) using remotely sensed images in Shitoukoumen Reservior, Northeast China

The Shitoukoumen Reservoir is the major drinking water resources for the Changchun metropolitan region. The concentration of total suspended matter (TSM) is major water quality parameter that could be retrieved using remotely sensed data. 225 samples were analyzed during 12 times of field works from April 2006 to September 2008, in which the field work conducted on 17^th July 2007 and 13^th September 2008 were concurrent with IRS-P6 satellite over pass. Empirical regression models were established to analysis the relationship between TSM and satellite-received radiances. It was found that the regression model performed well on the TSM concentration estimation with higher accuracy (R² = 0.94, 0.91) with IRS-P6 visible and near infrared bands as inputs. The high concentration of TSM made it the dominant upwelling signature captured by IRS-P6 satellite data, which may explain why the regression model relatively accurate. The RMSE for the TSM was less than 15%. Future work will need to be undertaken to refine model for Shitoukoumen Reservoir water quality monitoring with remotely sensed images or hyperspectral imaging data is to be launched in the near future.