The Potential for Leveraging SWOT-Mapped Uneven Water Surface Elevations to Enhance ICESat-2-Derived Lake Levels

Spatial variability in water surface elevation (WSE) within a lake can impact the accuracy of satellite-derived WSE time series. In this study, we analyzed WSE differences resulting from spatial variability across 81,133 global lakes and reservoirs using eight cycles of SWOT imagery. We compared these spatial WSE differences with temporal WSE fluctuations to estimate their influence on time series accuracy. Additionally, we evaluated the seasonal variation of spatial WSE differences across the eight cycles and performed an uncertainty analysis for each lake. For detailed structure and format information, please read the "README" file included in the repository. For detailed methodology and validation, see Huang (2026)*.湖泊内的水面高程（Water Surface Elevation, WSE）空间异质性会对卫星反演得到的WSE时间序列的精度产生影响。本研究借助8个周期的合成孔径水面地形卫星（Surface Water and Ocean Topography, SWOT）影像，分析了全球81133个湖泊与水库中由空间异质性引发的WSE差异；通过将此类空间WSE差异与时间维度的WSE波动进行对比，量化其对时间序列精度的影响程度。此外，本研究还针对8个周期的空间WSE差异的季节变化特征开展了评估，并为每一个湖泊完成了不确定性分析。 如需了解详细的数据集结构与格式规范，请查阅本数据集仓库内附带的"README"文件。 有关研究方法与验证细节，请参考Huang（2026）的相关成果。