Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2026. Т. 23. № 3. С. 304-315
On the issue of quantitative assessment of groundwater outflow from periglacial lakes using remote sensing data
G.V. Pryakhina 1 , D.O. Andreeva 1 , E.S. Zelepukina 2 , V.A. Rasputina 1 1 Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2 Bonch-Bruevich Saint Petersburg State University of Telecommunications, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Accepted: 02.04.2026
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2026-23-3-304-315
The primary mechanism for the outburst of moraine-dammed and dammed lakes, resulting in significant economic losses and human casualties, is the erosion of seepage channels. The study quantitatively estimates the piping from high-mountain lakes of various origins impounded by soil dams on the basis of an optimized algorithm for estimating groundwater outflow using remote sensing data. The study proposed a method for quantifying groundwater outflow from periglacial lakes by the difference in lake volumes during periods of no inflow, using bathygraphic curves. A Sentinel-2 and Landsat-7 satellite imagery array served as the primary source of information on changes in lake area. For lakes in the Altai highlands, several regional curves for groups of lakes differing in basin shape and structure were proposed for the first time, based on a summary of field measurements. The obtained groundwater outflow values for the studied lakes showed that for lakes with similar morphology and basin shapes (Barsovo and Nurgan) the water flow rates were comparable. Meanwhile, for a lake with a significantly larger volume (Maashei), the groundwater outflow was an order of magnitude higher. The use of remote sensing for areas with low solid precipitation also made it possible to determine the elevation of the filtration channel based on changes in water levels calculated from the difference in lake surface areas during the cold period.
Keywords: filtration channel, Altai lakes, estimating water surface area from satellite imagery, dependence of lake volume on their area
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