Comparative Analysis of Regression Models for Remote Sensing-based Water Quality Assessment

Abstract

The 80-kilometer-long Vembanad Lake in Kerala, India, is a Ramsar site. Eutrophication is deteriorating its water quality and threatening its biodiversity. In this study, satellite imageries of Sentinel 2A and Landsat 8 OLI were utilized to determine its water quality. Various data sets of the water quality parameters viz. pH, Electrical conductivity, TSS, TDS, BOD, DO, chloride etc. are analyzed and interpreted. Regression models were developed on the parameters taken up for water quality analysis. The empirical R2 values of the developed models evidenced the accuracy of the developed mdoels. The findings show that remote sensing images are reliable for analyzing surface water quality characteristics. The comparative analysis of the model developed illustrated the effectiveness of using the imaging systems mentioned above for water quality index estimation through remote sensing.