Interannual water level variations in Lake Izabal, Guatemala, Centroamerica, using radar altimetry and its relationship with oceanographic features

C. Medina; J. Gómez-Enri; J. Alonso del Rosario; P. Villares-Durán; M. Arias Ballesteros; M. Catalán Pérez-Urquiola; I. Labrador

doi:10.1117/12.737793

24 October 2007 Interannual water level variations in Lake Izabal, Guatemala, Centroamerica, using radar altimetry and its relationship with oceanographic features

C. Medina, J. Gómez-Enri, J. Alonso del Rosario, P. Villares-Durán, M. Arias Ballesteros, M. Catalán Pérez-Urquiola, I. Labrador

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6743, Remote Sensing of the Ocean, Sea Ice, and Large Water Regions 2007; 67430L (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.737793
Event: SPIE Remote Sensing, 2007, Florence, Italy

Abstract

It is well known that ocean-atmosphere dynamic affects the weather conditions over the continents and the ocean itself. The hydrologic cycle is driven by climatic parameters like precipitation, temperature, evaporation, winds and humidity. Hence, the river's water discharges and lake water level variations are impelled by climatic conditions also. Lake Izabal is the largest one in Guatemala; its main tributary is the Polochic River. Its level is related to the Polochic Rivers runoff and therefore to the precipitation/evaporation over its catchment area. The Lake Izabal water level fluctuations are driven by the annual cycle of rainy and dry seasons. In this study the ENVISAT RA-2 Geophysical Data Records orbits over the lake, coupled with in-situ measurements are used in order to determine and characterize the lake level fluctuations. The precipitation records over the lake's catchment area are also analyzed. In addition, some relationships of the lake level interannual variations with the climate indexes of Southern Oscillation Index SOI and the Tropical North Atlantic NATL were investigated. The main result is that the abrupt lake level rise in July 2006 is correlated to an abnormal precipitation in June 2006. Theoretically, this was forced by "La Nina" Southern Oscillation events during early 2006.

Citation Download Citation

C. Medina, J. Gómez-Enri, J. Alonso del Rosario, P. Villares-Durán, M. Arias Ballesteros, M. Catalán Pérez-Urquiola, and I. Labrador "Interannual water level variations in Lake Izabal, Guatemala, Centroamerica, using radar altimetry and its relationship with oceanographic features", Proc. SPIE 6743, Remote Sensing of the Ocean, Sea Ice, and Large Water Regions 2007, 67430L (24 October 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.737793

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
10 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Climatology

Lanthanum

Climate change

Electroluminescence

Solids

Ecosystems

Radar

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years