Integrated Approaches to Hydraulic and Sediment Transport Modeling for Flood Risk Management Using Advanced Models, Remote Sensing, GIS, and IoT

Dear Colleagues,

Floods are among the most major and destructive natural disasters worldwide. In recent decades, flood frequency and extreme weather intensity have increased due to climate change, alterations in land-use patterns, urbanization, and human interventions in natural ecosystems. Hydrological and hydraulic simulation models serve as essential tools for understanding flow dynamics, predicting flood areas, and supporting decision-making processes aimed at reducing impacts on both natural and anthropogenic environments. In addition to intense rainfall events, which typically trigger flooding, sediment transport is a critical factor in flood risk assessment and management. Sediment dynamics can affect river morphology, reservoir capacity, and the overall efficiency of aquatic ecosystems. Sediment transport simulation integrated with hydraulic modeling has become essential for accurately estimating flood risk in fluvial, deltaic, and coastal systems. Meanwhile, technological advances in remote sensing, geographic information systems (GISs), the Internet of Things (IoT), and sensor networks have enhanced model development, calibration, validation, and the generation of digital twin models. Satellite imagery, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) observations and surveying, sensor networks, real-time data platforms, and citizen-science data provide detailed information that can improve hydraulic models, enhance the capability for flood monitoring and prediction, and support the development of effective early warning systems. Therefore, the importance of integrating advanced technologies into hydrological, hydraulic, and sediment transport simulations has become increasingly prominent.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight these interdisciplinary advances and to collect original research articles and reviews that enhance the simulation and management of flood processes for optimal flood risk management by integrating hydraulic or/and sediment transport modeling in combination with advanced computational tools, remote sensing data, GIS-based analysis, and IoT technologies.

This Special Issue welcomes manuscripts that deal with and perhaps link some of the following themes:

• Advanced hydraulic and hydrodynamic modeling for fluvial, urban, or coastal flooding;
• Sediment transport modeling;
• CFD modeling for flood risk management;
• Integration of remote sensing data (satellite, UAV, LiDAR, SAR) into flood and sediment transport modeling;
• Integrated modeling environments with hydraulic and sediment transport simulations;
• GIS-based approaches for flood hazard mapping, risk assessment, and decision-support tools;
• IoT and sensor networks for real-time hydrological monitoring and early warning systems;
• Coupled hydraulic–hydrological modeling for risk assessment;
• Impacts of climate change on flood regimes, sediment loads, and hydrological extremes;
• Model validation and uncertainty analysis using multi-source observational datasets;
• Applications in integrated water resources management, disaster risk reduction, and planning of infrastructure or nature-based solution projects.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Prof. Dr. Nikolaos P. Theodossiou
Prof. Dr. Evangelia D. Farsirotou
Dr. Yiannis Kontos
Guest Editors

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