Informing a hydrological model of the Ogooué with multi-mission remote sensing data

Abstract. Remote sensing provides a unique opportunity to inform and constrain a hydrological model and to increase its value as a decision-support tool. In this study, we applied a multi-mission approach to force, calibrate and validate a hydrological model of the ungauged Ogooué river basin in Africa with publicly available and free remote sensing observations. We used a rainfall–runoff model based on the Budyko framework coupled with a Muskingum routing approach. We parametrized the model using the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission digital elevation model (SRTM DEM) and forced it using precipitation from two satellite-based rainfall estimates, FEWS-RFE (Famine Early Warning System rainfall estimate) and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B42 v.7, and temperature from ECMWF ERA-Interim. We combined three different datasets to calibrate the model using an aggregated objective function with contributions from (1) historical in situ discharge observations from the period 1953–1984 at six locations in the basin, (2) radar altimetry measurements of river stages by Envisat and Jason-2 at 12 locations in the basin and (3) GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) total water storage change (TWSC). Additionally, we extracted CryoSat-2 observations throughout the basin using a Sentinel-1 SAR (synthetic aperture radar) imagery water mask and used the observations for validation of the model. The use of new satellite missions, including Sentinel-1 and CryoSat-2, increased the spatial characterization of river stage. Throughout the basin, we achieved good agreement between observed and simulated discharge and the river stage, with an RMSD between simulated and observed water amplitudes at virtual stations of 0.74 m for the TRMM-forced model and 0.87 m for the FEWS-RFE-forced model. The hydrological model also captures overall total water storage change patterns, although the amplitude of storage change is generally underestimated. By combining hydrological modeling with multi-mission remote sensing from 10 different satellite missions, we obtain new information on an otherwise unstudied basin. The proposed model is the best current baseline characterization of hydrological conditions in the Ogooué in light of the available observations.

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Informing a hydrological model of the Ogooué with multi-mission remote sensing data

10.5194/hess-2017-549 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Cecile M. M. Kittel ◽

Karina Nielsen ◽

Christian Tøttrup ◽

Peter Bauer-Gottwein

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Hydrological Model ◽

Water Storage ◽

Remote Sensing Data ◽

Total Water ◽

Support Tool ◽

River Stage ◽

Satellite Missions ◽

Sar Imagery ◽

Storage Change

Abstract. Remote sensing provides a unique opportunity to inform and constrain a hydrological model and to increase its value as a decision-support tool. In this study, we applied a multi-mission approach to force, calibrate and validate a hydrological model of the ungauged Ogooué river basin in Africa with publicly available and free remote sensing observations. We used a rainfall–runoff model based on the Budyko framework coupled with a Muskingum routing approach. We parametrized the model using the SRTM DEM, and forced it using precipitation from two satellite-based rainfall estimates, FEWS-RFE and TRMM 3B42 v.7, and temperature from ECMWF ERA-Interim. We combined three different datasets to calibrate the model using an aggregated objective function with contributions from: (1) historical in-situ discharge observations from the period 1953-1984 at 6 locations in the basin, (2) radar altimetry measurements of river stages by Envisat and Jason-2 at 12 locations in the basin and (3) GRACE total water storage change. Additionally, we extracted CryoSat-2 observations throughout the basin using a Sentinel-1 SAR imagery water mask and used the observations for validation of the model. The use of new satellite missions, including Sentinel-1 and CryoSat-2, increased the spatial characterization of river stage. Throughout the basin, we achieved good agreement between observed and simulated discharge and river stage, with a RMSD between simulated and observed water amplitudes at virtual stations of 0.74 m for the TRMM forced model and 0.87 m for the FEWS-RFE forced model. The hydrological model also generally captures total water storage change patterns, although the amplitude of storage change is generally underestimated. By combining hydrological modelling with multi-mission remote sensing from ten different satellite missions, we obtain new information on an otherwise unstudied basin. The proposed model is the best current baseline characterisation of hydrological conditions in the Ogooué in light of the available observations.

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Stepwise improvement of hydrological models using satellite-based evaporation and total water storage estimations

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-796 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Markus Hrachowitz ◽

Petra Hulsman ◽

Hubert Savenije

Keyword(s):

Model Calibration ◽

Hydrological Model ◽

Model Development ◽

Water Storage ◽

Spatiotemporal Variability ◽

Model Structure ◽

Hydrological Models ◽

Total Water ◽

Spatiotemporal Model ◽

Multiple Variables

Hydrological models are often calibrated with respect to flow observations at the basin outlet. As a result, flow predictions may seem reliable but this is not necessarily the case for the spatiotemporal variability of system-internal processes, especially in large river basins. Satellite observations contain valuable information not only for poorly gauged basins with limited ground observations and spatiotemporal model calibration, but also for stepwise model development. This study explored the value of satellite observations to improve our understanding of hydrological processes through stepwise model structure adaption and to calibrate models both temporally and spatially. More specifically, satellite-based evaporation and total water storage anomaly observations were used to diagnose model deficiencies and to subsequently improve the hydrological model structure and the selection of feasible parameter sets. A distributed, process based hydrological model was developed for the Luangwa river basin in Zambia and calibrated with respect to discharge as benchmark. This model was modified stepwise by testing five alternative hypotheses related to the process of upwelling groundwater in wetlands, which was assumed to be negligible in the benchmark model, and the spatial discretization of the groundwater reservoir. Each model hypothesis was calibrated with respect to 1) discharge and 2) multiple variables simultaneously including discharge and the spatiotemporal variability in the evaporation and total water storage anomalies. The benchmark model calibrated with respect to discharge reproduced this variable well, as also the basin-averaged evaporation and total water storage anomalies. However, the evaporation in wetland dominated areas and the spatial variability in the evaporation and total water storage anomalies were poorly modelled. The model improved the most when introducing upwelling groundwater flow from a distributed groundwater reservoir and calibrating it with respect to multiple variables simultaneously. This study showed satellite-based evaporation and total water storage anomaly observations provide valuable information for improved understanding of hydrological processes through stepwise model development and spatiotemporal model calibration.

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Estimating the water balance and uncertainty bounds in a highly groundwater-dependent and data-scarce areas: An example for the upper Citarum basin

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-9943 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Steven Reinaldo Rusli ◽

Albrecht Weerts ◽

Victor Bense

Keyword(s):

Water Balance ◽

Water Storage ◽

Total Water ◽

Groundwater Abstraction ◽

Water Balance Components ◽

Groundwater Storage ◽

Actual Evaporation ◽

Basin Scale ◽

Basin Water ◽

Storage Change

In this study, we estimate the water balance components of a highly groundwater-dependent and hydrological data-scarce basin of the upper reaches of the Citarum river in West Java, Indonesia. Firstly, we estimate the groundwater abstraction volumes based on population size and a review of literature (0.57mm/day). Estimates of other components like rainfall, actual evaporation, discharge, and total water storage changes are derived from global datasets and are simulated using a distributed hydrological wflow_sbm model which yields additional estimates of discharge, actual evaporation, and total water storage change. We compare each basin water balance estimate as well as quantify the uncertainty of some of the components using the Extended Triple Collocation (ETC) method.The ETC application on four different rainfall estimates suggests a preference of using the CHIRPS product as the input to the water balance components estimates as it delivers the highest r2&#160; and the lowest RMSE compared to three other sources. From the different data sources and results of the distributed hydrological modeling using CHIRPS as rainfall forcing, we estimate a positive groundwater storage change between 0.12 mm/day - 0.60 mm/day. These results are in agreement with groundwater storage change estimates based upon GRACE gravimetric satellite data, averaged at 0.25 mm/day. The positive groundwater storage change suggests sufficient groundwater recharge occurs compensating for groundwater abstraction. This conclusion seems in agreement with the observation since 2005, although measured in different magnitudes. To validate and narrow the estimated ranges of the basin water storage changes, a devoted groundwater model is necessary to be developed. The result shall also aid in assessing the current and future basin-scale groundwater level changes to support operational water management and policy in the Upper Citarum basin.

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Modeling the Hydrological Effect on Local Gravity at Moxa, Germany

Journal of Hydrometeorology ◽

10.1175/jhm488.1 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 346-354 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Shaakeel Hasan ◽

Peter A. Troch ◽

J. Boll ◽

C. Kroner

Keyword(s):

Transfer Function ◽

Hydrological Modeling ◽

Hydrological Model ◽

Water Storage ◽

Superconducting Gravimeter ◽

Hydrological Processes ◽

Earth Tides ◽

Time Averaging ◽

Distributed Hydrological Model ◽

High Positive Correlation

Abstract A superconducting gravimeter has observed with high accuracy (to within a few nm s−2) and high frequency (1 Hz) the temporal variations in the earth’s gravity field near Moxa, Germany, since 1999. Hourly gravity residuals are obtained by time averaging and correcting for earth tides, polar motion, barometric pressure variations, and instrumental drift. These gravity residuals are significantly affected by hydrological processes (interception, infiltration, surface runoff, and subsurface redistribution) in the vicinity of the observatory. In this study time series analysis and distributed hydrological modeling techniques are applied to understand the effect of these hydrological processes on observed gravity residuals. It is shown that the short-term response of gravity residuals to medium- to high-rainfall events can be efficiently modeled by means of a linear transfer function. This transfer function exhibits an oscillatory behavior that indicates fast redistribution of stored water in the upper layers (interception store, root zone) of the catchment surrounding the instrument. The relation between groundwater storage and gravity residuals is less clear and varies according to the season. High positive correlation between groundwater and gravity exists during winter months when the freezing of the upper soil layers immobilizes water stored in the unsaturated zone of the catchment. To further explore the spatiotemporal dynamics of the relevant hydrological processes and their relation to observed gravity residuals, a GIS-based distributed hydrological model is applied for the Silberleite catchment. Driven by observed atmospheric forcings (precipitation and potential evapotranspiration), the model allows the authors to compute the variation of water storage in three different layers: the interception store, the snow cover store, and the soil moisture store. These water storage dynamics are then converted to predicted gravity variation at the location of the superconducting gravimeter and compared to observed gravity residuals. During most of the investigated period (January 2000 to January 2004) predictions are in good agreement with the observed patterns of gravity dynamics. However, during some winter months the distributed hydrological model fails to explain the observations, which supports the authors’ conclusion that groundwater variability dominates the hydrological gravity signal in the winter. More hydrogeological research is needed to include groundwater dynamics in the hydrological model.

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Long-term Total Water Storage Change from a SAtellite Water Cycle (SAWC) reconstruction over large south Asian basins

10.5194/hess-2019-262 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Victor Pellet ◽

Filipe Aires ◽

Fabrice Papa ◽

Simon Munier ◽

Bertrand Decharme

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Climate Variability ◽

Water Cycle ◽

Water Storage ◽

Anthropogenic Pressure ◽

Total Water ◽

Storage Change ◽

Discharge Measurements

Abstract. The Total Water Storage Change (TWSC) over land is a major component of the global water cycle, with a large influence on climate variability, sea level budget and water resources availability for human life. Its first estimates at large-scale were made available with GRACE observations for the 2002–2016 period, followed since 2018 by the launch of GRACE-FO mission. In this paper, using an approach based on the water mass conservation rule, we proposed to merge satellite-based observations of precipitation and evapotranspiration along with in situ river discharge measurements to estimate TWSC over longer time periods (typically from 1980 to 2016), compatible with climate studies. We performed this task over five major Asian basins, subject to both large climate variability and strong anthropogenic pressure for water resources, and for which long term record of in situ discharge measurements are available. Our SAtellite Water Cycle (SAWC) reconstruction provides TWSC estimates very coherent in terms of seasonal and interannual variations with independent sources of information such as (1) TWSC GRACE-derived observations (over the 2002–2015 period), (2) ISBA-CTRIP model simulations (1980–2015), and (3) multi-satellite inundation extent (1993–2007). This analysis shows the advantages of the use of multiple satellite-derived data sets along with in situ data to perform hydrologically coherent reconstruction of missing water component estimate. It provides a new critical source of information for long term monitoring of TWSC and to better understand their critical role in the global and terrestrial water cycle.

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Soil Moisture and Soil Water Storage Using Hydrological Modeling and Remote Sensing

Application of Soil Physics in Environmental Analyses ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-06013-2_14 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 307-345 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Otto Corrêa Rotunno Filho ◽

Afonso Augusto Magalhães de Araujo ◽

Luciano Nóbrega Rodrigues Xavier ◽

Daniel Medeiros Moreira ◽

Rafael Carneiro Di Bello ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Soil Moisture ◽

Soil Water ◽

Hydrological Modeling ◽

Water Storage ◽

Soil Water Storage

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Evaluating the effect of partial contributing storage on the storage–discharge function from recession analysis

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-17-4283-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 17 (10) ◽

pp. 4283-4296 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

X. Chen ◽

D. Wang

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Water Storage ◽

Hydrologic Connectivity ◽

Storage Effect ◽

Streamflow Data ◽

Recession Analysis ◽

Daily Evaporation ◽

And Storage ◽

Storage Change ◽

Possible Cause

Abstract. Hydrograph recession during dry periods has been used to construct water storage–discharge relationships and to quantify storage dynamics and evaporation when streamflow data is available. However, variable hydrologic connectivity among hillslope–riparian–stream zones may affect the lumped storage–discharge relationship, and as a result, affect the estimation of evaporation and storage change. Given observations of rainfall and runoff, and remote-sensing-based observations of evaporation, the ratio (α) between estimated daily evaporation from recession analysis and observed evaporation, and the ratio (β) between estimated contributing storage and total watershed storage are computed for 9 watersheds located in different climate regions. Both evaporation and storage change estimation from recession analysis are underestimated due to the effect of partial contributing storage, particularly when the discharge is low. It was found that the values of α decrease significantly during individual recession events, while the values of β are relatively stable during a recession event. The values of β are negatively correlated with the water table depth and vary significantly among recession events. The partial contributing storage effect is one possible cause for the multi-valued storage–discharge relationship.

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Long-term total water storage change from a Satellite Water Cycle reconstruction over large southern Asian basins

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-24-3033-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (6) ◽

pp. 3033-3055

Author(s):

Victor Pellet ◽

Filipe Aires ◽

Fabrice Papa ◽

Simon Munier ◽

Bertrand Decharme

Keyword(s):

Climate Variability ◽

Water Cycle ◽

Critical Role ◽

Water Storage ◽

Anthropogenic Pressure ◽

Total Water ◽

Storage Change ◽

Discharge Measurements

Abstract. The total water storage change (TWSC) over land is a major component of the global water cycle, with a large influence on the climate variability, sea level budget and water resource availability for human life. Its first estimates at a large scale were made available with GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) observations for the 2002–2016 period, followed since 2018 by the launch of the GRACE-FO (Follow-On) mission. In this paper, using an approach based on the water mass conservation rule, we propose to merge satellite-based observations of precipitation and evapotranspiration with in situ river discharge measurements to estimate TWSC over longer time periods (typically from 1980 to 2016), compatible with climate studies. We performed this task over five major Asian basins, subject to both large climate variability and strong anthropogenic pressure for water resources and for which long-term records of in situ discharge measurements are available. Our Satellite Water Cycle (SAWC) reconstruction provides TWSC estimates very coherent in terms of seasonal and interannual variations with independent sources of information such as (1) TWSC GRACE-derived observations (over the 2002–2015 period), (2) ISBA-CTRIP (Interactions between Soil, Biosphere and Atmosphere CNRM – Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques – Total Runoff Integrating Pathways) model simulations (1980–2015) and (3) the multi-satellite inundation extent (1993–2007). This analysis shows the advantages of the use of multiple satellite-derived datasets along with in situ data to perform a hydrologically coherent reconstruction of a missing water component estimate. It provides a new critical source of information for the long-term monitoring of TWSC and to better understand its critical role in the global and terrestrial water cycle.

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Combined integrated hydrological modeling and particle tracking algorithms to infer the temporal variability of transit and residence time distributions within the Strengbach catchment (Vosges mountains, France)

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6872 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sylvain Weill ◽

Nolwenn Lesparre ◽

Benjamin Jeannot ◽

Frederick Delay

Keyword(s):

Transit Time ◽

Residence Time ◽

Particle Tracking ◽

Temporal Variability ◽

Hydrological Modeling ◽

Hydrological Model ◽

Water Storage ◽

Tracking Algorithms ◽

Residence Time Distributions ◽

Strengbach Catchment

The temporal variability of transit-time distributions (TTDs) and residence-time distributions (RTDs) in hydrological systems has received particular attention recently because of their ability to inform on elementary processes impacting geochemical signatures and water fluxes in ecosystems. To date, these distributions and their temporal variability have been mainly investigated through concentration measurements of conservative geochemical or isotopic tracers. Even though physically-based and distributed hydrological models can render interpretations of TTDs/RTDs in terms of processes and physical controls, the variability of TTDs and RTDs has barely been studied using distributed hydrological modeling. In this study, an integrated hydrological model has been coupled with particle tracking algorithms and applied to the Strengbach Catchment &#8211; a small mountainous catchment belonging to the French network of critical zone observatories &#8211; to investigate the eventual link between water storage in the catchment and the temporal variability of TTDs and RTDs. The model calibration is performed relying upon both classical streamflow measurements and magnetic resonance sounding, a geophysical measure sensible to the water content in the subsurface. The model is then run over a 10-year period for which time distributions are calculated at various deadlines. The results show that the response of the Strengbach catchment is uncommon with short mean transit times (approximately 150-200 days) and a weak variability of TTDs and RTDs with the water storage. This specific behavior is mainly linked to the small size of the system and specific climatic and topographic conditions. Because the hydrological model was calibrated on the basis of unusual data (local water contents inferred via MRS measurements), ongoing investigations target the evaluation of&#160;the sensitivity of transit time distributions with respect to uncertainties plaguing calibrating data.

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