Evaluating Satellite Indicators in Determining the Level of Aquatic Areas Using Satellite Sensors (Case study: Zaribar Wetland , Kurdistan Province)

Water body’s survey and determination its spatial extension are contributing factors for understanding the hydrological cycle and water resources management. Recently, remote sensing technique has become a common approach for monitoring surface water resources. The main objective of this study is determination of the suitable satellite indices for extracting Zaribar wetland area using Landsat 5.7.8 satellite images. The area of the wetland is calculated by using the supervised classification method (maximum likelihood) between 2005 and 2016, and this method is considered as the basis for determining the best indices. NDVI, NDWI, MNDWI, SWI, AWEI, and WRI were compared with each other as the most common indices in determining water bodies. The values of each index in every image were extracted and the threshold values for each image were determined and finally verified by using the base method. Comparison with reference method (supervised classification) revealed that, MNDWI, AWEI, and SWI indices with correlation values of 0.76, 0.76, and 0.74, , and RMSE value of 108.80, 111.30, and 113.80 hectares, and MAE error values of 84.63, 94.28 and 87.30 hectares, respectively are the best indicators to determining water body area. Considering the easiness and rate of calculation, it is more likely that using these indicators would help us to create a time series of wetland area changes for efficient management of this water body.