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Advances in Hydro-Meteorological Monitoring

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 December 2016) | Viewed by 86845

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tommaso Moramarco

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Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection IRP, Italian National Research Council, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 7, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: hydrological modeling; environmental impact assessment; water resources management; environmental management; urban planning; environment; climate change; modeling; statistical analysis; water quality

Prof. Dr. Roberto Ranzi

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Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy
Interests: mountain hydrology; floods; environmental engineering; climate change impact
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Basin hydrology is related to the soil-atmosphere interaction driven by several blended processes constrained by the space-time variability of precipitation and soil moisture, along with the overland flow and flood routing in natural channels. The emerging technologies for the monitoring and prediction of the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall and soil moisture over a catchment, as well as the hillslope and river runoff, are of considerable interest to predict the hydrological response of a catchment. In this context, this Special Issue aims to shed light on the more recent advances in ground observations and remote sensing products, as well as the benefit that comes from the integration between technological innovation and the development of new ideas in hydrology science. Specifically, the Special Issue invites theoretical and applied contributions dealing with the development and comparisons of different monitoring procedures based on ground and satellite data for: (1) improving the representation of the rainfall field and soil-moisture at catchment scale; (2) monitoring the discharge in poorly equipped natural channels; (3) identifying the core hydrological processes in the runoff production; and (4) enhancing hydrological and hydraulic models aimed at the definition of hydraulic risk.

Prof. Dr. Tommaso Moramarco
Prof. Dr. Roberto Ranzi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

hydrological cycle
ground observation
remote sensing
monitoring
natural hazards

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

2346 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Estimating River Depth from SWOT-Type Observables Obtained by Satellite Altimetry and Imagery

by Mohammad J. Tourian, Omid Elmi, Abolfazl Mohammadnejad and Nico Sneeuw

Water 2017, 9(10), 753; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9100753 - 30 Sep 2017

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 8162

Abstract

The proposed Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission aims to improve spaceborne estimates of river discharge through its measurements of water surface elevation, river width and slope. SWOT, however, will not observe baseflow depth, which limits its value in estimating river discharge especially for those rivers with heterogeneous channel geometry. In this study, we aim to obtain river depths from spaceborne observations together with in situ data of river discharge. We first obtain SWOT-like observables from current satellite techniques. We obtain river water level and slope time series from multi-mission altimetry and effective river width from satellite imagery (MODIS). We then employ a Gauss–Helmert adjustment model to estimate average river depth for 16 defined reaches along the Po River in Italy, for which we use our spaceborne observations in two recognized models for discharge estimation. The average river depth estimates along the Po River are validated against surveyed cross-section information, which shows a generally good agreement in the range of ∼10% relative root mean squared error. Furthermore, we analyzed the sensitivity of error in the estimated river depth to errors of individual parameters. We show that the estimated river depth is less influenced by errors of river width and river discharge, while it is strongly influenced by errors in water level. This result gives a perspective to the SWOT mission to infer river depth by coarse estimates of river width and discharge. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydro-Meteorological Monitoring)

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12756 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Local- and Plot-Scale Measurements of Soil Moisture: Time and Spatially Resolved Field Techniques in Plain, Hill and Mountain Sites

by Giulia Raffelli, Maurizio Previati, Davide Canone, Davide Gisolo, Ivan Bevilacqua, Giorgio Capello, Marcella Biddoccu, Eugenio Cavallo, Rita Deiana, Giorgio Cassiani and Stefano Ferraris

Water 2017, 9(9), 706; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9090706 - 15 Sep 2017

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 6565

Abstract

Soil moisture measurement is essential to validate hydrological models and satellite data. In this work we provide an overview of different local and plot scale soil moisture measurement techniques applied in three different conditions in terms of altitude, land use, and soil type, namely a plain, a mountain meadow and a hilly vineyard. The main goal is to provide a synoptic view of techniques supported by practical case studies to show that in such different conditions it is possible to estimate a time and spatially resolved soil moisture by the same combination of instruments: contact-based methods (i.e., Time Domain Reflectometry—TDR, and two low frequency probes) for the time resolved, and hydro-geophysical minimally-invasive methods (i.e., Electromagnetic Induction—EMI, Ground Penetrating Radar—GPR, and the Electrical Resistivity Tomography—ERT) for the spatially resolved. Both long-term soil moisture measurements and spatially resolved measurement campaigns are discussed. Technical and operational measures are detailed to allow critical factors to be identified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydro-Meteorological Monitoring)

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7395 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Snow Precipitation Measured by Gauges: Systematic Error Estimation and Data Series Correction in the Central Italian Alps

by Giovanna Grossi, Amerigo Lendvai, Giovanni Peretti and Roberto Ranzi

Water 2017, 9(7), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9070461 - 25 Jun 2017

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 6592

Abstract

Precipitation measurements by rain gauges are usually affected by a systematic underestimation, which can be larger in case of snowfall. The wind, disturbing the trajectory of the falling water droplets or snowflakes above the rain gauge, is the major source of error, but when tipping-bucket recording gauges are used, the induced evaporation due to the heating device must also be taken into account. Manual measurements of fresh snow water equivalent (SWE) were taken in Alpine areas of Valtellina and Vallecamonica, in Northern Italy, and compared with daily precipitation and melted snow measured by manual precipitation gauges and by mechanical and electronic heated tipping-bucket recording gauges without any wind-shield: all of these gauges underestimated the SWE in a range between 15% and 66%. In some experimental monitoring sites, instead, electronic weighing storage gauges with Alter-type wind-shields are coupled with snow pillows data: daily SWE measurements from these instruments are in good agreement. In order to correct the historical data series of precipitation affected by systematic errors in snowfall measurements, a simple ‘at-site’ and instrument-dependent model was first developed that applies a correction factor as a function of daily air temperature, which is an index of the solid/liquid precipitation type. The threshold air temperatures were estimated through a statistical analysis of snow field observations. The correction model applied to daily observations led to 5–37% total annual precipitation increments, growing with altitude (1740 ÷ 2190 m above sea level, a.s.l.) and wind exposure. A second ‘climatological‘ correction model based on daily air temperature and wind speed was proposed, leading to errors only slightly higher than those obtained for the at-site corrections. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydro-Meteorological Monitoring)

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8218 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Discharge Measurements of Snowmelt Flood by Space-Time Image Velocimetry during the Night Using Far-Infrared Camera

by Ichiro Fujita

Water 2017, 9(4), 269; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9040269 - 11 Apr 2017

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 7148

Abstract

The space time image velocimetry (STIV) technique is presented and shown to be a useful tool for extracting river flow information non-intrusively simply by taking surface video images. This technique is applied to measure surface velocity distributions on the Uono River on Honshu Island, Japan. At the site, various measurement methods such as a radio-wave velocity meter, an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) or imaging techniques were implemented. The performance of STIV was examined in various aspects such as a night measurement using a far-infrared-ray (FIR) camera and a comparison to ADCP data for checking measurement accuracy. All the results showed that STIV is capable of providing reliable data for surface velocity and water discharge that agree fairly well with ADCP data. In particular, it was demonstrated that measurements during the night can be conducted without any difficulty using an FIR camera and the STIV technique. In particular, using the FIR camera, the STIV technique can capture water surface features better than conventional cameras even at low resolution. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that measurements during the night can be conducted without any difficulty. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydro-Meteorological Monitoring)

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2949 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Soil Moisture for Hydrological Applications: Open Questions and New Opportunities

by Luca Brocca, Luca Ciabatta, Christian Massari, Stefania Camici and Angelica Tarpanelli

Water 2017, 9(2), 140; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9020140 - 20 Feb 2017

Cited by 234 | Viewed by 18615

Abstract

Soil moisture is widely recognized as a key parameter in the mass and energy balance between the land surface and the atmosphere and, hence, the potential societal benefits of an accurate estimation of soil moisture are immense. Recently, scientific community is making great effort for addressing the estimation of soil moisture over large areas through in situ sensors, remote sensing and modelling approaches. The different techniques used for addressing the monitoring of soil moisture for hydrological applications are briefly reviewed here. Moreover, some examples in which in situ and satellite soil moisture data are successfully employed for improving hydrological monitoring and predictions (e.g., floods, landslides, precipitation and irrigation) are presented. Finally, the emerging applications, the open issues and the future opportunities given by the increased availability of soil moisture measurements are outlined. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydro-Meteorological Monitoring)

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2411 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

From Surface Flow Velocity Measurements to Discharge Assessment by the Entropy Theory

by Tommaso Moramarco, Silvia Barbetta and Angelica Tarpanelli

Water 2017, 9(2), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9020120 - 14 Feb 2017

Cited by 42 | Viewed by 6928

Abstract

A new methodology for estimating the discharge starting from the monitoring of surface flow velocity, u_surf, is proposed. The approach, based on the entropy theory, involves the actual location of maximum flow velocity, u_max, which may occur below the water surface (dip phenomena), affecting the shape of velocity profile. The method identifies the two-dimensional velocity distribution in the cross-sectional flow area, just sampling u_surf and applying an iterative procedure to estimate both the dip and u_max. Five gage sites, for which a large velocity dataset is available, are used as a case study. Results show that the method is accurate in simulating the depth-averaged velocities along the verticals and the mean flow velocity with an error, on average, lower than 12% and 6%, respectively. The comparison with the velocity index method for the estimation of the mean flow velocity using the measured u_surf, demonstrates that the method proposed here is more accurate mainly for rivers with a lower aspect ratio where secondary currents are expected. Moreover, the dip assessment is found more representative of the actual location of maximum flow velocity with respect to the one estimated by a different entropy approach. In terms of discharge, the errors do not exceed 3% for high floods, showing the good potentiality of the method to be used for the monitoring of these events. Full article

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4649 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Space–Time Characterization of Rainfall Field in Tuscany

by Alessandro Mazza

Water 2017, 9(2), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9020086 - 31 Jan 2017

Viewed by 4124

Abstract

Precipitation during the period 2001–2016 over the northern and central part of Tuscany was studied in order to characterize the rainfall regime. The dataset consisted of hourly cumulative rainfall series recorded by a network of 801 rain gauges. The territory was divided into 30 × 30 km2 square areas where the annual and seasonal Average Cumulative Rainfall (ACR) and its uncertainty were estimated using the Non-Parametric Ordinary Block Kriging (NPOBK) technique. The choice of area size was a compromise that allows a satisfactory spatial resolution and an acceptable uncertainty of ACR estimates. The daily ACR was estimated using a less computationally expensive technique, averaging the cumulative rainfall measurements in the area. The trend analysis of annual and seasonal ACR time series was performed by means of the Mann–Kendall test. Four climatic zones were identified: the north-western was the rainiest, followed by the north-eastern, northcentral and south-central. An overall increase in precipitation was identified, more intense in the north-west, and determined mostly by the increase in winter precipitation. On the entire territory, the number of rainy days, mean precipitation intensity and sum of daily ACR in four intensity groups were evaluated at annual and seasonal scale. The main result was a magnitude of the ACR trend evaluated as 35 mm/year, due mainly to an increase in light and extreme precipitations. This result is in contrast with the decreasing rainfall detected in the past decades. Full article

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8578 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Integrated Approach for Site Selection of Snow Measurement Stations

by Bahram Saghafian, Rahman Davtalab, Arezoo Rafieeinasab and M. Reza Ghanbarpour

Water 2016, 8(11), 539; https://doi.org/10.3390/w8110539 - 17 Nov 2016

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4922

Abstract

Snowmelt provides a reliable water resource for meeting domestic, agricultural, industrial and hydropower demands. Consequently, estimating the available snow water equivalent is essential for water resource management of snowy regions. Due to the spatiotemporal variability of the snowfall pattern in mountainous areas and difficult access to high altitudes areas, snow measurement is one of the most challenging hydro-meteorological data collection efforts. Development of an optimum snow measurement network is a complex task that requires integration of meteorological, hydrological, physiographical and economic studies. In this study, site selection of snow measurement stations is carried out through an integrated process using observed snow course data and analysis of historical snow cover images from National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (NOAA-AVHRR) at both regional and local scales. Several important meteorological and hydrological factors, such as monthly and annual rainfall distribution, spatial distribution of average frequency of snow observation (FSO) for two periods of snow falling and melting season, as well as priority contribution of sub-basins to annual snowmelt runoff are considered for selecting optimum station network. The FSO maps representing accumulation of snowfall during falling months and snowpack persistence during melting months are prepared in the GIS based on NOAA-AVHRR historical snow cover images. Basins are partitioned into 250 m elevation intervals such that within each interval, establishment of new stations or relocation/removing of the existing stations were proposed. The decision is made on the basis of the combination of meteorological, hydrological and satellite information. Economic aspects and road access constraints are also considered in determining the station type. Eventually, for the study area encompassing a number of large basins in southwest of Iran, several new stations and relocation of some existing stations are proposed. Full article

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1250 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rainfall Characteristics and Regionalization in Peninsular Malaysia Based on a High Resolution Gridded Data Set

by Chee Loong Wong, Juneng Liew, Zulkifli Yusop, Tarmizi Ismail, Raymond Venneker and Stefan Uhlenbrook

Water 2016, 8(11), 500; https://doi.org/10.3390/w8110500 - 02 Nov 2016

Cited by 68 | Viewed by 10598

Abstract

Daily gridded rainfall data over Peninsular Malaysia are delineated using an objective clustering algorithm, with the objective of classifying rainfall grids into groups of homogeneous regions based on the similarity of the rainfall annual cycles. It has been demonstrated that Peninsular Malaysia can be statistically delineated into eight distinct rainfall regions. This delineation is closely associated with the topographic and geographic characteristics. The variation of rainfall over the Peninsula is generally characterized by bimodal variations with two peaks, i.e., a primary peak occurring during the autumn transitional period and a secondary peak during the spring transitional period. The east coast zones, however, showed a single peak during the northeast monsoon (NEM). The influence of NEM is stronger compared to the southwest monsoon (SWM). Significantly increasing rainfall trends at 95% confidence level are not observed in all regions during the NEM, with exception of northwest zone (R1) and coastal band of west coast interior region (R3). During SWM, most areas have become drier over the last three decades. The study identifies higher variation of mean monthly rainfall over the east coast regions, but spatially, the rainfall is uniformly distributed. For the southwestern coast and west coast regions, a larger range of coefficients of variation is mostly obtained during the NEM, and to a smaller extent during the SWM. The inland region received least rainfall in February, but showed the largest spatial variation. The relationship between rainfall and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was examined based on the Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI). Although the concurrent relationships between rainfall in the different regions and ENSO are generally weak with negative correlations, the rainfall shows stronger positive correlation with preceding ENSO signals with a time lag of four to eight months. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydro-Meteorological Monitoring)

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7861 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Patterns and Influence Factors of Conversion Coefficients between Two Typical Pan Evaporimeters in China

by Yanzhong Li, Changming Liu and Kang Liang

Water 2016, 8(10), 422; https://doi.org/10.3390/w8100422 - 27 Sep 2016

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6071

Abstract

Pan measurement is a reliable and efficient method for indicating the evaporative demand of the atmosphere. There are several types of pan evaporimeters worldwide, and the estimation of the conversion coefficients (K_p) between them is necessary in hydrologic research. In China, E601B pans were installed at all meteorological stations beginning in 1998. They replaced the 20 cm pans (φ20). To fully use the records from the two pans and obtain long-term pan evaporation, the spatial patterns of K_p between φ20 and E601B and the factors that influence K_p are investigated based on records from 573 national meteorological stations from 1998 to 2001. In this study, The results show that higher K_p values are found in southwestern regions and lower values are found in northeastern regions during the warm seasons (from May to September), while K_p values are lower during warm seasons than during cold seasons (from October to April the following year). In addition, net radiation was found to be the dominant climate factor that affects variations in K_p, followed by relative humidity and the vapor pressure deficit. This study can improve the benefit of not only the selection of appropriate evaporimeters by meteorological departments, but also of the study of temporal variability and trends in the evaporative demand. Full article

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7608 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Daily Precipitation Changes over Large River Basins in China, 1960–2013

by Bo Qu, Aifeng Lv, Shaofeng Jia and Wenbin Zhu

Water 2016, 8(5), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/w8050185 - 02 May 2016

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5726

Abstract

Based on a high-quality dataset of 713 daily precipitation series, changes in daily precipitation events during 1960–2013 were observed in China’s ten largest river basins. Specifically, the amount of precipitation in four categories defined by fixed thresholds and their proportion on total precipitation were analyzed on annual and seasonal time scales. Results showed annual precipitation increased by 1.10 mm/10yr in China, but with obvious spatial differences. Regionally, annual precipitation increased significantly in northwestern rivers, upstream areas of the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, southwestern rivers (due to increase in light and moderate precipitation); and in southeastern rivers, downstream areas of the Yangtze River, and the Pearl River (due to increase in heavy and extreme precipitation). Annual precipitation decreased significantly in the mid-Yangtze River and upstream Pearl River (due to decrease in light, moderate, and heavy precipitation). Seasonally, precipitation decreased only in autumn; this was attributable to a decrease in light and moderate precipitation. Results show that the distribution of precipitation intensity over China has shifted to intense categories since the 1960s, there has been an increase in moderate precipitation in Northwestern and Northern China, and an increase in extreme precipitation in Southeastern China. This shift was detected in all seasons, especially in summer. Precipitation extremes were investigated in the categories of extreme precipitation and results show that the risk of flood has been exacerbated over the past half-century in the Huaihe River, the mid- and lower Yangtze River, the Pearl River, and southeastern rivers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hydro-Meteorological Monitoring)

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