Using Grid Computing and Satellite Remote Sensing in Evapotranspiration Estimation

The most advanced and applicable approach today in the development of environmental monitoring programs is the integration of remote sensing and Grid computing services into a monitoring and forecasting system that helps the analyst to understand the problem without being a remote sensing or computer expert. In this chapter we present the main features of Grid computing and how we can use it in conjunction with remote sensing to develop several applications that will estimate ET (Evapotranspiration), LST (Land Surface Temperature) and some vegetation indices (VI's) directly from a satellite image, these parameters playing an essential role in all activities related to water resources management.

Drought Effects on Groundwater in Dobrogea Plateau

The study aims to analyse the impact of the drought phenomenon on groundwater in Dobrogea Plateau, taking into account the specific climatic and hydrological factors and especially the geological and structural context in which it delineates the main hydrostructures. The groundwater is subject to climatic and anthropogenic impacts whose weight are difficult to assess, so until now, a hydrogeological drought index was not identified. The effects of climate change impact are reflected in the fluctuations of the piezometric surface of the shallow aquifers, the deepest aquifers being influenced rather by socio-economic issues. To achieve the objective of the research, the available data (climate, hydrological and hydrogeological) were processed using GIS and Excel softs and the results (maps, graphs, tables) were interpreted and correlated in some relevant conclusions.

Management of Drought and Floods in the Dobrogea Region

Dobrogea is a region of Romania with a high economic potential, partly due to its advantageous geographical position between the Danube and the Black Sea. Nevertheless, in the last decency, there have been significant social and economic damages due to the successive waves of excessive droughts and catastrophic floods, results of obvious climate changes. In order to avoid damages from future climatic events, Dobrogea has been included in the plans, programmes of measures and future actions, which include monitoring and early warning systems and proactive risk management measures. Furthermore, the institutional and administrative structures are designing preparedness plans aimed at increasing the adaptive capacity, as well as effective emergency response programmes, aimed at reducing the impact of droughts and floods. In this chapter is presented information on the national policies applied at regional and local level in Dobrogea, aimed at reducing the risk of droughts and floods.

Basics for Hydraulic Modelling of Flood Runoff Using Advanced Hydroinformatic Tools

The first part of the chapter presents general and specific issues concerning the use of hydroinformatic tools in hydraulic modeling as important step in decision-making activities in extreme situations such as floods. The special importance of these issues is the fact that currently cannot conceive a project related to water management without the use of computer modeling / simulation. It is shortly presented the usual simplified schematizations of real flow systems which are applied usually for flood modeling: one-dimensional (1D), two-dimensional (2D) or her combination. Based on the general principles of continuum mechanics the fundamental equations of hydrodynamics are deducted which stay on base of the river modeling. For the 1D schemes discussed the particular forms of the basic equations. To illustrate the above explanations in the next section modeling applications for several representative case studies will be presented using three known hydrodynamic/ hydrological modeling packages, namely DUFLOW, HEC-RAS, MIKE-11.

Identification of Dry Periods in the Dobrogea Region

The main objective of this study is to identify different types of drought (moderate, severe and extreme) in the Dobrogea region based on three indicators: the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), the Standardized Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and the Standardized Flow Index (SFI). The dry periods, from a meteorological point of view, were identified based on a drought index that takes into account only precipitation (SPI) and another one that takes into account both precipitation as well as mean air temperature (SPEI). To highlight the dry periods from a hydrological point of view we applied the procedure for calculating the SPI to monthly discharge time series, through the Standardized Flow Index (SFI).

Management of Drought and Floods in Romania

This chapter presents concepts of drought and flood management, information on the steps taken and on the national policies applied in Romania in this field. The Romanian institutional framework for the management of droughts and floods is detailed, as well as the planning phase, the plans, the strategies and the programs that establish Romania's national priorities on climate change and the management of droughts and floods, in line with the EU directives and international conventions and treaties Romania is part of. Information is also given about preventive, operative measures of intervention and rehabilitation, as part of the operational and emergency situations response management, as well as the guidelines, trends and future actions of prevention and control for this category of disasters in Romania.

Floods Monitoring

Romania experiences severe flooding problems almost every year. Within the last decade, floods have resulted in more than 200 deaths and estimated economic damages of $92 million per year. Also, between 1992 and 2012, there were 700 reported accidental chemical spills in Romania, some of them resulting in trans-boundary impacts. In this chapter is described the Romanian flood early warning system concept realized by the National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management (INHGA) under the auspices of Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (in former time Ministry of Environmental and Waters – MoEW) and DESWAT project. Beginning with 2014, DESWAT (Destructive Waters Abatement and Control) flood monitoring system is functional in all Romania.

The Influence of Air Temperature on the Quality Parameters of the Black Sea Coastal Waters

In this chapter, the authors point out the connection between some physical and chemical parameters of the Black Sea water under extreme air temperatures. In this context, the period from 2006 to 2012 was chosen as the study period, because it is characterized by very high values of air temperature, which significantly affect not only the quality of the Black Sea water in the superficial layer but also the marine ecosystem and life. Some quality parameters as water temperatures, oxygen regime or the degree of eutrophication have been collected and analyzed and they show noticeable variations relative to ambient air temperature changes, mainly if they are determined on the surface layer.

Mathematical Models Used for Hydrological Floodplain Modeling

There are several methodological approaches to model floodplains. The selection of the appropriate methodology is a matter of the required results and is very dependent on data availability. In fact, data availability is the crucial parameter especially when working in ungauged basins or ephemeral streams. The goal of this chapter is to evaluate methodologies used to floodplain modeling in small watersheds. An overview of the principal models used in floodplain modeling is presented here in terms of their relative advantages as compared to each other. The chapter provides the results obtained with different models applied to a small watershed situated in the Romania and concludes with a discussion about the various recommendations and solutions on flood modeling methodology.

Hydrological Risk Phenomena and Flood Analysis

This paper is one detailed research of the major river basins of the Romanian North Dobrogea, Taita River Catchment. The Taita River has a catchment size of about 591 km 2 and is flowing into the Black Sea through Topraichioi Lake after 57 km. Upstream it has an elevation about 240 m height and 0 m at downstream (the reference is the Black Sea). The complexity of this research study is given, on the one hand, by the descriptive side of the natural aspects (geological, morphological, climatic aspects, hydrology and the soil) and, on the other hand, by the practical side, boosted by the information system processing of data. This study presents the theoretical concepts concerning the hazards and the risk, which, for a better interpretation of the impact of these phenomena, are supplemented by the maps, graphs and photographs.