Application of Remote Sensing and GIS in Water Resources
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "New Sensors, New Technologies and Machine Learning in Water Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2026 | Viewed by 2
Special Issue Editors
Interests: vadose zone hydrology; urban hydrology; watershed hydrology; stormwater; low-impact development (LID); green infrastructure (GI); best management practice (BMP); stormwater control measures (SCM); remote sensing; SWMM; geographic information system (GIS); heat islands
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: remote sensing; urban heat islands; BIM; GIS; CFD
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The application of remote sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GISs) has become indispensable for the effective and sustainable management of water resources. By leveraging these powerful tools, researchers can acquire, analyze, and visualize vast amounts of spatial data, leading to a comprehensive understanding of complex hydrological systems. RS technologies, including satellite imagery, airborne LiDAR, and various sensors, provide critical surface-level data on a wide range of water-related parameters. This information includes the extent of surface water bodies, snow cover, soil moisture, land use, and changes in vegetation, which are all crucial for assessing water availability and demand.
The true strength of this approach lies in the integration of this data within a GIS environment. GISs serve as a robust platform for compiling, processing, and analyzing diverse datasets from multiple sources. GISs allow for advanced spatial analysis, enabling the identification of patterns, relationships, and trends that are not apparent from a single data source. By combining RS data with other information—such as climate data, topographic maps, and field measurements—GISs facilitate powerful hydrological modeling, water resource planning, and environmental impact assessments. This integration significantly enhances our ability to monitor, predict, and respond to challenges like floods, droughts, and water quality degradation, ultimately supporting informed decision-making for water conservation and allocation.
This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements and innovative applications of RS and GISs in water resources. By showcasing high-quality original research and review articles, this Special Issue will highlight the transformative potential of these technologies in addressing pressing global water challenges. Based on this framework, the Special Issue focuses on papers that address one or more of the following topics:
- Hydrological Modeling and Forecasting: Using RS and GISs for rainfall-runoff, flood, and drought modeling.
- Water Quality Assessment and Monitoring: Employing satellite imagery to monitor water bodies for pollutants, turbidity, and algal blooms.
- Surface and Groundwater Interaction: Mapping and analyzing the connectivity between surface water bodies and groundwater systems.
- Irrigation and Agricultural Water Management: Applying RS for crop water stress detection, irrigation scheduling, and water use efficiency analysis.
- Watershed Management and Planning: Utilizing GISs for spatial analysis to support land use planning and conservation strategies within a watershed.
- Glacier and Snow Cover Dynamics: Assessing changes in cryosphere water resources using remote sensing data.
- Regional Water Resource Assessment: Evaluating water availability and demand at regional scales to support transboundary water agreements.
- Urban Water Management: Using geospatial tools to monitor urban water supply, drainage networks, and flood risk.
Dr. Min-Cheng Tu
Dr. Hong-Yuan Huo
Guest Editors
Dr. James Deemy
Guest Editor Assistant
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- GIS
- remote sensing
- hydrology
- satellite
- drone
- surface water
- groundwater
- cryosphere
- flood
- drought
- rainfall-runoff
- water quality
- irrigation
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