The emerging role of satellite rainfall data in improving the hydro-political situation of flood monitoring in the under-developed regions of the world |
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Authors: | Faisal Hossain Nitin Katiyar Yang Hong Aaron Wolf |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tennessee Technological University, 1020 Stadium Drive, Box 5015, Cookeville, TN 38505-0001, USA;(2) UMBC/GEST and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA;(3) Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA |
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Abstract: | The systematic decline of in situ networks for hydrologic measurements has been recognized as a crucial limitation to advancing
hydrologic monitoring in medium to large basins, especially those that are already sparsely instrumented. As a collective
response, sections of the hydrologic community have recently forged partnerships for the development of space-borne missions
for cost-effective, yet global, hydrologic measurements by building upon the technological advancements since the last two
decades. In this article, we review the state-of-the-art on flood monitoring in medium and large ungauged basins where satellite
remote sensing can facilitate development of a cost-effective mechanism. We present our review in the context of the current
hydro-political situation of flood monitoring in flood-prone developing nations situated in international river basins (IRBs).
Given the large number of such basins and the difficulty in acquisition of multi-faceted geophysical data, we argue that the
conventional data-intensive implementation of physically based hydrologic models that are complex and distributed is time-consuming
for global assessment of the utility of proposed global satellite hydrologic missions. A more parsimonious approach is justified
at the tolerable expense of accuracy before such missions begin operation. Such a parsimonious approach can subsequently motivate
the identified international basins to invest greater effort in conventional and detailed hydrologic studies to design a prototype
flood forecasting system in an effort to overcome the hydro-political hurdles to flood monitoring. Through a modeling exercise involving an open-book watershed concept, we demonstrate the value of a parsimonious approach
in understanding the utility of NASA-derived satellite rainfall products. It is critical now that real-world operational flood
forecasting agencies in the under-developed world come forward to collaborate with the research community in order to leverage
satellite rainfall data for greater societal benefit for inhabitants in IRBs. |
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Keywords: | Flood monitoring Satellite remote sensing Precipitation International river basins Forecasting Hydrologic modeling Decision support tools |
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