Estimating intra-annual changes in the surface area of Sand Mesa Reservoir #1 using multi-temporal Landsat images

Sand Mesa Reservoir #1 is a man-made reservoir constructed to improve habitat for several wildlife species and is located in Fremont County, Wyoming. Wetlands surrounding this reservoir also filter the sediments and other pollutants from the farmlands before the water flows into Boysen Reservoir. However no in-or out-flow records are available for this reservoir that can be used for reconstructing past changes in the water level or surface area. Changes in the surface area of this reservoir was mapped with Landsat images acquired in 2007 and 2009 growing seasons (June and September). Results indicate that the surface area decreased linearly throughout the growing season in both years. However the surface area in 2009 was higher in comparison to 2007. This methodology can be applied to other cloud-free Landsat images acquired since 1984 for reconstructing seasonal and annual changes in the surface area of Sand Mesa Reservoir #1.