The LakeBrowser has provided satellite-derived data on lake clarity, an indicator of water quality, for more than 10,000 Minnesota lakes since 2002. An online interactive tool with searchable statewide maps of lake clarity, chlorophyll concentrations, and CDOM levels, it has been updated in ArcGIS Server with improved image and data display, geospatial analyses, and new data created using an automated image processing system that classifies all available Sentinel-2 satellite data. Pixel and lake level maps of lake clarity, chlorophyll, and CDOM can be displayed by seasonal average and since 2017 by month, along with summaries and statistics at state, county, ecoregion, and watershed levels, and land cover maps and statistics for a 1,000-foot buffer area around each lake. It provides daily (when clear imagery is available) and monthly (May–October) average clarity, chlorophyll, and CDOM data. Older data are available for download and more recent data can be accessed through the U of MN GEMS Informatics Exchange.
For more information on remote sensing of satellite monitoring of lake water quality, our methods, and results, see our website, Remote Sensing of Water Resources. The research and development have been conducted by faculty and staff of the Department of Forest Resources – Remote Sensing and Geospatial Analysis Laboratory and associated colleagues in several other departments and colleges in collaboration with the Water Resources Center and Minnesota Supercomputing Institute. ArcGIS hosting and application development have been provided by U-Spatial.
Comments, questions, or suggestions to improve the LakeBrowser are welcome. Please complete the feedback form or email Leif Olmanson (olman002@umn.edu).
Acknowledgments. Our research and development of the LakeBrowser has been supported by the University of Minnesota and state and federal agencies.
- Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station
- University of Minnesota U-Spatial
- Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund
- Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
- National Science Foundation
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- U.S. Geological Survey
Download Data
Vector and raster data available for download on the Remote Sensing and Geospatial Analysis Laboratory Data List are listed below.
Lake Clarity Averages (Vector)
This GIS data set includes water clarity measurements from Landsat imagery, primarily Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, for Minnesota lakes larger than eight hectares in surface area. It includes data on more than 10,500 lakes at five-year intervals from 1975–2008. Only 2008 is displayed.
Lake Clarity 2008 (Raster)
This GIS data set includes water clarity measurements assembled from Landsat imagery, primarily Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, for Minnesota lakes and bodies of water.
Recent, lake clarity, chlorophyll and CDOM data are also available and can be accessed for geospatial analysis with other data layers through the GEMS Informatics Exchange.