LAGOS‐US RESERVOIR: A database classifying conterminous U.S. lakes 4 ha and larger as natural lakes or reservoir lakes

• Published in: Limnology and oceanography letters 2023-04, Vol.8 (2), p.267-285
• Main Authors: Rodriguez, Lauren K., Polus, Sam M., Matuszak, Danielle I., Domka, Marcella R., Hanly, Patrick J., Wang, Qi, Soranno, Patricia A., Cheruvelil, Kendra S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Classification; Dams; Lakes; Machine learning; Polygons; Prediction models; Reservoirs; River networks; Streams; Water control
• ISSN: 2378-2242; 2378-2242
• DOI: 10.1002/lol2.10299

The LAGOS‐US RESERVOIR data module classifies all 137,465 lakes ≥ 4 ha in the conterminous U.S. into three categories using a machine learning predictive model based on visual interpretation of lake outlines and a lake shape classification rule. Natural Lakes (NLs) are defined as naturally formed, lacking large, flow‐altering structures; Reservoir Class A's (RSVR_A) are defined as lakes likely human‐made or human‐altered by a large water control structure; and Reservoir Class B's (RSVR_Bs) are lakes likely human‐made but are not connected to streams and have a shape rare in NLs. We trained machine learning models on 12,162 manually classified lakes to predict assignment as an NL or RSVR, then further classified RSVRs based on NHD Fcodes, isolation, and angularity. Our classification indicates that > 46% of lakes ≥ 4 ha in the conterminous U.S. are reservoir lakes. These data can be easily combined with other LAGOS‐US modules and U.S. national databases for the broad‐scale study of reservoir lakes and NLs.