Monitoring Lake Primary Production using the PACE satellite (Lake3P)

The project in a nutshell

Primary production is the production of biomass from nutrients and light or chemical energy by algae and cyanobacteria. It binds carbon, but the degradation of biomass consumes the oxygen in deep water. Primary production is one of the most fundamental and critical processes in lakes, but its direct measurement is associated with great effort. Alternatively, primary production can be estimated based on the available light and the absorption of this light by algae pigments. Both quantities can be determined from optical measurements taken at LéXPLORE, as well as from comparable satellite observations. On the basis of these data, we develop methods that allow the determination of daily and annual primary production in Lake Geneva and other large Swiss lakes. We use novel hyperspectral data that will be available from 2024 as part of NASA’sPACE mission.

Team members

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