Landsat Data Reveals 40-Year Carbon Patterns Across China’s 24,000 Lakes

Breakthrough in Lake Carbon Monitoring

Scientists have created the first comprehensive dataset tracking carbon parameters across all of China’s 24,366 lakes using 40 years of Landsat satellite observations, according to reports published in Scientific Data. The study, which spans from 1984 to 2023, represents a significant advancement in understanding how inland waters contribute to global carbon cycling.

Breakthrough in Lake Carbon Monitoring
Comprehensive Carbon Tracking
Revealing Regional Patterns
Overcoming Traditional Limitations
Scientific and Policy Implications

Sources indicate that lakes function as critical components in the global carbon cycle, acting as receivers, regulators, reactors, and reservoirs. However, until now, long-term and national-scale monitoring data on lake carbon parameters have been unavailable, limiting scientists’ ability to track changes and understand broader environmental impacts.

Comprehensive Carbon Tracking

The research team developed several two-step Random Forest algorithms that combined Landsat reflectance data with in-situ measurements from 5,503 stations, analysts suggest. This approach enabled remote retrieval of concentrations and storage of three key carbon components: dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC).

According to the report, DIC comprises over 70% of total lake carbon and directly modulates CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere, influencing regional climate feedback. Meanwhile, DOC and POC drive carbon burials in sediment and serve as critical energy sources for microbial communities, thereby shaping aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem stability.

Revealing Regional Patterns

The dataset reveals distinct regional patterns influenced by both climate change and human activities, the report states. In northwestern China, glacial meltwater and increased precipitation have expanded lake areas, diluting DOC concentrations while increasing water storage. Conversely, intensified agricultural runoff and urbanization in southeastern China have elevated lake POC concentrations by promoting algal proliferation.

Researchers noted that elevated DOC concentrations in saline lakes enhance light absorption and alter photochemical processes, while high POC concentrations in eutrophic lakes accelerate oxygen depletion and POC deposition to sediment. These carbon parameters also reflect human impacts such as nutrient runoff and land use changes, making their monitoring essential for mitigating eutrophication and guiding sustainable water security management., according to recent developments

Overcoming Traditional Limitations

The study addresses significant limitations of traditional monitoring methods, sources indicate. Station-based approaches involving field sampling and laboratory measurements suffer from sparse spatial coverage and high costs, making it difficult to capture the spatiotemporal variations of lake carbon parameters. Seasonal heterogeneity and complex optical properties of lake water further limit the representativeness of discrete measurements.

Analysts suggest that satellite remote sensing technology enables large-scale and high-frequency monitoring that traditional methods cannot provide. Previous studies had focused on single carbon components or specific regions, but the new China Lake Carbon Parameter (CLCP) dataset represents the first comprehensive integration of DOC, POC, and DIC data across all Chinese lakes over four decades.

Scientific and Policy Implications

The CLCP dataset provides annual average values and spatiotemporal distributions of carbon concentrations and storages on a 1.0° grid across lakes larger than 0.01 km², according to reports. This unified framework offers valuable resources for lake water environment management, lake carbon stock estimation, and global carbon balance assessment.

The research team has established an open-access platform for disseminating the CLCP dataset, facilitating scientific collaboration, and supporting policy making. The dataset’s comprehensive nature helps disentangle interactions between carbon parameters and environmental drivers such as salinity and temperature, potentially enhancing predictive capacity for carbon-climate feedback.

This breakthrough in lake carbon monitoring comes at a critical time when understanding carbon dynamics in inland waters is increasingly important for climate change mitigation and water resource management strategies worldwide.