IIT Bombay unveils 'IMPART' app, can track climate change through lake water temperatures

Representational Pic/File

The researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) have unveiled IMPART, a web-based application designed to monitor changing water surface temperatures with "unparalleled" accuracy.

Developed by Kumar Nitish and Prof. J. Indu from the Department of Civil Engineering and Interdisciplinary Centre for Climate Studies, this open-source tool offers a transformative approach to tracking climate change's impact on freshwater ecosystems.

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Studies have consistently shown that water surface temperatures in seas, rivers, and lakes are rising due to climate change and human activities. This trend is particularly alarming in Asia, where river and lake temperatures are increasing at unprecedented rates. In 2023, global sea surface temperatures saw their steepest rise in more than a century, underscoring the urgent need for effective monitoring tools.

Water bodies, unlike land masses, heat up slowly, making their surface temperatures a critical indicator of global warming. These temperature changes impact aquatic life, reduce oxygen levels, and can lead to harmful algal blooms, threatening both biodiversity and water resources. Accurate and dynamic monitoring of these changes is vital for effective water resource management and ecological conservation.

IMPART: "A revolutionary approach"

IMPART, short for Integration of dynaMic water extents towards improved lake water surface temperature, bridges the gaps left by traditional monitoring methods, which often assume static lake areas. By incorporating dynamic changes in lake extents - affected by factors like urbanization, seasonal shifts, and temperature variations - IMPART provides a more accurate representation of lake water surface temperatures.

"Accounting for dynamic changes in lake water surface extents significantly improves the accuracy of temperature estimations," explains Prof. Indu. "This approach offers a more nuanced understanding of how freshwater ecosystems respond to climate change," Indu added.

How IMPART works

IMPART utilizes data from satellite instruments such as MODIS and LANDSAT, along with lake extent images sourced from Google Earth Engine. By combining this data, the tool calculates both static and dynamic lake water surface temperatures. For its dynamic module, IMPART factors in real-time changes in lake areas, offering a level of precision previously unattainable.
In a comprehensive study involving 342 lakes worldwide - including 115 in India - the tool revealed significant differences between static and dynamic temperature estimates for more than half the lakes analyzed. The differences were particularly pronounced in tropical, arid, and temperate zones, where climatic variability has a greater influence on water bodies.

Future potential

IMPART's intuitive interface makes it accessible to researchers, policymakers, and environmental organizations. Beyond its primary function of tracking lake water temperatures, the tool holds potential for applications in water resource management, ecological health assessments, and early-warning systems for lakes under environmental stress.

"This tool enables climate scientists to monitor freshwater ecosystems with greater accuracy and offers insights that can inform policies to mitigate climate change's impact," says Nitish.

Prof. Indu added, "IMPART is not just a monitoring tool - it's a step toward understanding and preserving our planet's vital water resources."

A Milestone in climate Science

As the effects of climate change intensify, tools like IMPART are becoming indispensable. By providing precise, dynamic measurements of lake water surface temperatures, IIT Bombay's latest innovation empowers researchers and decision-makers to address the challenges of climate change head-on.