scholarly journals Validation of the altimetry-based water levels from Sentinel-3A and B in the Inner Niger Delta

Author(s):  
Adama Telly Diepkilé ◽  
Flavien Egon ◽  
Fabien Blarel ◽  
Eric Mougin ◽  
Frédéric Frappart

Abstract. The comprehension of water level fluctuations and the sustainability of the Inner Niger River Delta (IND) is a major concern for the scientific community, but also for the local population. Located in the centre of Mali, the heart of the Sahel, the delta is characterised by a floodable area of more than 32 000 km2 during the rainy season, which contributes very strongly to the vitality of local ecosystem, and is consequently classified as a Ramsar site under the international Convention for Wetlands. In addition, the Delta acts as an environmental and socio-economic development barometer for the entire sub-region. Nowadays, we can observe an increasing fragility of the delta due to climate change, desertification and human activities, and justifies the need for permanent monitoring. The present study is based on the recent successes of radar altimetry, originally designed to monitor the dynamics topography of the ocean, and now very frequently used to retrieve inland water levels, of lakes, rivers, and wetlands. Previous studies evaluated the performances of several radar altimetry missions including Low Resolution Mode (LRM) (Topex-Poseidon, Jason-1/2/3, ERS-2, ENVISAT, and SARAL, and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Sentinel-3A missions for water level retrievals over 1992–2017. More than 50 times series of water levels were build at the crossing between water bodies and Sentinel-3A and 3B over 2016–2020. Twenty-four comparisons between in-situ and altimetry-based time-series of water levels were achieved over the IND. RMSE generally lower than 0.7 m and r higher than 0.9 were obtained.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2196
Author(s):  
Frédéric Frappart ◽  
Fabien Blarel ◽  
Ibrahim Fayad ◽  
Muriel Bergé-Nguyen ◽  
Jean-François Crétaux ◽  
...  

Radar altimetry is now commonly used to provide long-term monitoring of inland water levels in complement to or for replacing disappearing in situ networks of gauge stations. Recent improvements in tracking and acquisition modes improved the quality the water retrievals. The newly implemented Open Loop mode is likely to increase the number of monitored water bodies owing to the use of an a priori elevation, especially in hilly and mountainous areas. The novelty of this study is to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the performances of the past and current radar altimetry missions according to their acquisition (Low Resolution Mode or Synthetic Aperture Radar) and tracking (close or open loop) modes, and acquisition frequency (Ku or Ka) in a mountainous area where tracking losses of the signal are likely to occur, as well as of the recently launched ICESat-2 and GEDI lidar missions. To do so, we evaluate the quality of water level retrievals from most radar altimetry missions launched after 1995 over eight lakes in Switzerland, using the recently developed ALtimetry Time Series software, to compare the performances of the new tracking and acquisition modes and also the impact of the frequency used. The combination of the Open Loop tracking mode with the Synthetic Aperture Radar acquisition mode on SENTINEL-3A and B missions outperforms the classical Low Resolution Mode of the other missions with a lake observability greater than 95%, an almost constant bias of (−0.17 ± 0.04) m, a RMSE generally lower than 0.07 m and a R most of the times higher than 0.85 when compared to in situ gauge records. To increase the number of lakes that can be monitored and the temporal sampling of the water level retrievals, data acquired by lidar altimetry missions were also considered. Very accurate results were also obtained with ICESat-2 data with RMSE lower than 0.06 and R higher than 0.95 when compared to in situ water levels. An almost constant bias (0.42 ± 0.03) m was also observed. More contrasted results were obtained using GEDI. As these data were available on a shorter time period, more analyses are necessary to determine their potential for retrieving water levels.


Author(s):  
Krum Videnov ◽  
Vanya Stoykova

Monitoring water levels of lakes, streams, rivers and other water basins is of essential importance and is a popular measurement for a number of different industries and organisations. Remote water level monitoring helps to provide an early warning feature by sending advance alerts when the water level is increased (reaches a certain threshold). The purpose of this report is to present an affordable solution for measuring water levels in water sources using IoT and LPWAN. The assembled system enables recording of water level fluctuations in real time and storing the collected data on a remote database through LoRaWAN for further processing and analysis.


2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarod Lyon ◽  
Ivor Stuart ◽  
David Ramsey ◽  
Justin O'Mahony

Off-channel habitats, such as wetlands and backwaters, are important for the productivity of river systems and for many species of native fish. This study aimed to investigate the fish community, timing and cues that stimulated movement to and from off-channel habitats in the highly regulated Lake Hume to Lake Mulwala reach of the Murray River, south-eastern Australia. In 2004–05, 193 712 fish were collected moving bi-directionally between a 50-km section of the Murray River and several off-channel habitats. Lateral fish movements approximated water level fluctuations. Generally as water levels rose, fish left the main river channel and moved into newly flooded off-channel habitats; there was bi-directional movement as water levels peaked; on falling levels fish moved back to the permanent riverine habitats. Fish previously classified as ‘wetland specialists’, such as carp gudgeons (Hypseleotris spp.), have a more flexible movement and life-history strategy including riverine habitation. The high degree of lateral movement indicates the importance of habitat connectivity for the small-bodied fish community. Wetlands adjacent to the Murray River are becoming increasingly regulated by small weirs and ensuring lateral fish movement will be important in maintaining riverine-wetland biodiversity.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 2651
Author(s):  
Qiang Liu ◽  
Liqiao Liang ◽  
Xiaomin Yuan ◽  
Sirui Yan ◽  
Miao Li ◽  
...  

Water level fluctuations play a critical role in regulating vegetation distribution, composition, cover and richness, which ultimately affect evapotranspiration. In this study, we first explore water level fluctuations and associated impacts on vegetation, after which we assess evapotranspiration (ET) under different water levels. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used to estimate the fractional vegetation cover (Fv), while topography- and vegetation-based surface-energy partitioning algorithms (TVET model) and potential evaporation (Ev) were used to calculate ET and water evaporation (Ep). Results show that: (1) water levels were dramatically affected by the combined effect of ecological water transfer and climate change and exhibited significant decreasing trends with a slope of −0.011 m a−2; and (2) as predicted, there was a correlation between water level fluctuation at an annual scale with Phragmites australis (P. australis) cover and open-water area. Water levels also had a controlling effect on Fv values, an increase in annual water levels first increasing and then decreasing Fv. However, a negative correlation was found between Fv values and water levels during initial plant growth stages. (iii) ET, which varied under different water levels at an annual scale, showed different partition into transpiration from P. australis and evaporation from open-water area and soil with alterations between vegetation and open water. All findings indicated that water level fluctuations controlled biological and ecological processes, and their structural and functional characteristics. This study consequently recommends that specifically-focused ecological water regulations (e.g., duration, timing, frequency) should be enacted to maintain the integrity of wetland ecosystems for wetland restoration.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 2879-2925 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. D. Paiva ◽  
W. Collischonn ◽  
M.-P. Bonnet ◽  
L. G. G. de Gonçalves ◽  
S. Calmant ◽  
...  

Abstract. In this work we introduce and evaluate a data assimilation framework for gauged and radar altimetry-based discharge and water levels applied to a large scale hydrologic-hydrodynamic model for stream flow forecasts over the Amazon River basin. We used the process-based hydrological model called MGB-IPH coupled with a river hydrodynamic module using a storage model for floodplains. The Ensemble Kalman Filter technique was used to assimilate information from hundreds of gauging and altimetry stations based on ENVISAT satellite data. Model state variables errors were generated by corrupting precipitation forcing, considering log-normally distributed, time and spatially correlated errors. The EnKF performed well when assimilating in situ discharge, by improving model estimates at the assimilation sites and also transferring information to ungauged rivers reaches. Altimetry data assimilation improves results at a daily basis in terms of water levels and discharges with minor degree, even though radar altimetry data has a low temporal resolution. Sensitivity tests highlighted the importance of the magnitude of the precipitation errors and that of their spatial correlation, while temporal correlation showed to be dispensable. The deterioration of model performance at some unmonitored reaches indicates the need for proper characterization of model errors and spatial localization techniques for hydrological applications. Finally, we evaluated stream flow forecasts for the Amazon basin based on initial conditions produced by the data assimilation scheme and using the ensemble stream flow prediction approach where the model is forced by past meteorological forcings. The resulting forecasts agreed well with the observations and maintained meaningful skill at large rivers even for long lead times, e.g. > 90 days at the Solimões/Amazon main stem. Results encourage the potential of hydrological forecasts at large rivers and/or poorly monitored regions by combining models and remote sensing information.


2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 888-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Marciniak ◽  
Anna Szczucińska

The aim of this paper is to study diurnal fluctuations of the water level in streams draining headwaters and to identify the controlling factors. The fieldwork was carried out in the Gryżynka River catchment, western Poland. The water levels of three streams draining into the headwaters via a group of springs were monitored in the years 2011–2014. Changes in the water pressure and water temperature were recorded by automatic sensors – Schlumberger MiniDiver type. Simultaneously, Barodiver type sensors were used to record air temperature and atmospheric pressure, as it was necessary to adjust the data collected by the MiniDivers calculate the water level. The results showed that diurnal fluctuations in water level of the streams ranged from 2 to 4 cm (approximately 10% of total water depth) and were well correlated with the changes in evapotranspiration as well as air temperature. The observed water level fluctuations likely have resulted from processes occurring in the headwaters. Good correlation with atmospheric conditions indicates control by daily variations of the local climate. However, the relationship with water temperature suggests that fluctuations are also caused by changes in the temperature-dependent water viscosity and, consequently, by diurnal changes in the hydraulic conductivity of the hyporheic zone.


2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (11) ◽  
pp. 1836-1845
Author(s):  
K. Martin Perales ◽  
Catherine L. Hein ◽  
Noah R. Lottig ◽  
M. Jake Vander Zanden

Climate change is altering hydrologic regimes, with implications for lake water levels. While lakes within lake districts experience the same climate, lakes may exhibit differential climate vulnerability regarding water level response to drought. We took advantage of a recent drought (∼2005–2010) and estimated changes in lake area, water level, and shoreline position on 47 lakes in northern Wisconsin using high-resolution orthoimagery and hypsographic curves. We developed a model predicting water level response to drought to identify characteristics of the most vulnerable lakes in the region, which indicated that low-conductivity seepage lakes found high in the landscape, with little surrounding wetland and highly permeable soils, showed the greatest water level declines. To explore potential changes in the littoral zone, we estimated coarse woody habitat (CWH) loss during the drought and found that drainage lakes lost 0.8% CWH while seepage lakes were disproportionately impacted, with a mean loss of 40% CWH. Characterizing how lakes and lake districts respond to drought will further our understanding of how climate change may alter lake ecology via water level fluctuations.


1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 310-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. J. Lieffers

Emergent vegetation was sampled in 15 oxbow lakes in a 50-km segment of the Athabasca River in northeastern Alberta. Cover of individual species was visually assessed in plots at the outer, middle, and (or) inner edge of the emergent zone of each lake (n, 37 sample units). Detrended correspondence analysis showed two main axes of variation. The first axis related to salinity. Water conductivity ranged from 170 to 12200 μS cm−1 and community types ranged from freshwater fens to saline wetland communities dominated by Scolochloa festucacea, Scirpus maritimus, and Triglochin maritima. The second axis of variation related to water-level fluctuations. Half of the lakes had an increase in water level in the recent past (ca. 6–30 years). In these lakes, Typha latifolia was dominant in both grounded and floating substrates subjected to increased water levels. Sedge communities dominated by Carex rostrata, C. aquatilis, and Acorus calamus were common in sites with stable water levels. In freshwater lakes, floating substrates were established over open water by the lateral growth of floating stems of Calla palustris and Potentilla palustris. Floating substrates were not in the saline sites probably because these open-water colonizers were not present under saline regimes.


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 1007-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Neill

Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers were added over two growing seasons to marshes dominated by whitetop grass (Scolochloa festucacea) or cattail (Typha glauca) in a prairie lacustrine marsh to assess nutrient limitation and the interaction of nutrient limitation with water depth. For each species, stands were selected at the deep and shallow extremes of its water depth range. Water levels were high during the first year of fertilization and low during the second year, exposing the fertilized stands to a variety of water depths. Nitrogen limited growth in whitetop and cattail marshes. Water level, by controlling whether the soil was flooded or the water table was below the soil surface, affected growth and the degree of nitrogen limitation. In whitetop marshes, nitrogen increased biomass more when the soil was flooded or when standing water was deeper and in cattail marshes, it increased biomass more under intermediate water depths (approximately 0–20 cm) than under more deeply flooded (20–40 cm) or dry conditions. Nitrogen reduced biomass in whitetop marshes the second year, apparently because growth was inhibited by fallen litter from the previous year. Nitrogen did not limit cattail marsh biomass in the driest locations during a year of low water levels. Phosphorus caused a small increase in growth of both species after 2 years. Changes of nitrogen limitation with flooding suggest that annual water level fluctuations, by creating alternating flooded and dry conditions, may influence the primary production of emergent macrophytes through effects on nitrogen cycling.


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