Observations in Water Resources

A special issue of Hydrology (ISSN 2306-5338). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources and Risk Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2022) | Viewed by 26710

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute for Hydrology and Water Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
Interests: catchment hydrology; hydrological modelling and forecasting; water balance; water resources management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water resources management requires responsible, forward-looking, and far-sighted planning to provide and secure the vital resource “water” in sufficient quantity and quality, thereby also taking into account ecological aspects. Climate change, the associated increases in variability or the increased occurrence of extremes in components of the water cycle, and population growth as well as economic developments will increase the pressure on water resources in the future. Apart from these long-term planning horizons, water resources management also has short- and mid-term planning dimensions, e.g., regarding flood warning systems or seasonal or annual planning of reservoir management. Here, hydrometeorological information systems can provide a valuable basis for making decisions.

Hydrological and meteorological point observations build the basis of essential information for planning water resources and, at the same time, also provide evidence for changes in the water cycle due to climate change. However, these observation networks are decreasing globally, especially in countries or regions where the terrestrial monitoring networks or data storage and management are in poor condition due to political and administrative structures or financial constraints and hydrometeorological time series are not available, cannot be accessed, or exhibit substantial gaps. Single- or few-point measurements are also frequently used to estimate hydrometeorological conditions of a larger area and may, at the same time, not be representative for the larger domain. This is especially the case for mountainous regions with complex terrain.

In recent decades, alternative data sources and methods have become available. The increased availability of remote sensing-derived products on hydrometeorology, e.g., on fluxes like precipitation or system states like soil moisture, improvements in the spatiotemporal resolution of hydrological models, and advances in parameter calibration or hydrological information systems have advanced the information basis for water resources management. In the context of “Observations in Water Resources”, this Special Issue seeks contributions reflecting these novel aspects. These can range from gap-filling, regionalization, and interpolation methods of meteorological variables, hydrological information systems, remote sensing or re-analysis products used in hydrology and water management, or the spatiotemporal development of observation networks for single countries, regions, or globally. Additionally, innovative methods for the estimation of water demands are also welcome.

Dr. Mathew Herrnegger
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • hydrometeorological observation networks
  • remote sensing hydrology
  • satellite precipitation products
  • hydrological information systems
  • re-analysis

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3327 KiB  
Article
The Role of Bedload Transport in the Development of a Proglacial River Alluvial Fan (Case Study: Scott River, Southwest Svalbard)
by Waldemar Kociuba
Hydrology 2021, 8(4), 173; https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology8040173 - 22 Nov 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2658
Abstract
This study, which was conducted between 2010 and 2013, presents the results of direct, continuous measurements of the bedload transport rate at the mouth section of the Scott River catchment (NW part of Wedel-Jarlsberg Land, Svalbard). In four consecutive melt seasons, the bedload [...] Read more.
This study, which was conducted between 2010 and 2013, presents the results of direct, continuous measurements of the bedload transport rate at the mouth section of the Scott River catchment (NW part of Wedel-Jarlsberg Land, Svalbard). In four consecutive melt seasons, the bedload flux was analyzed at two cross-sections located in the lower reaches of the gravel-bed proglacial river. The transported bedload was measured using two sets of River Bedload Traps (RBTs). Over the course of 130 simultaneous measurement days, a total of 930 bedload samples were collected. During this period, the river discharged about 1.32 t of bedload through cross-section I (XS I), located at the foot of the alluvial fan, and 0.99 t through cross-section II (XS II), located at the river mouth running into the fjord. A comparison of the bedload flux showed a distinctive disproportion between cross-sections. Specifically, the average daily bedload flux QB was 130 kg day−1 (XS I) and 81 kg day−1 (XS II) at the individual cross-profiles. The lower bedload fluxes that were recorded at specified periods in XS II, which closed the catchment at the river mouth from the alluvial cone, indicated an active role of aggradation processes. Approximately 40% of all transported bedload was stored at the alluvial fan, mostly in the active channel zone. However, comparative Geomorphic Change Detection (GCD) analyses of the alluvial fan, which were performed over the period between August 2010 and August 2013, indicated a general lowering of the surface (erosion). It can be assumed that the melt season’s average flows in the active channel zone led to a greater deposition of bedload particles than what was discharged with high intensity during floods (especially the bankfull stage, effectively reshaping the whole surface of the alluvial fan). This study documents that the intensity of bedload flux was determined by the frequency of floods. Notably, the highest daily rates recorded in successive seasons accounted for 12–30% of the total bedload flux. Lastly, the multi-seasonal analysis showed a high spatio-temporal variability of the bedload transport rates, which resulted in changes not only in the channel but also on the entire surface of the alluvial fan morphology during floods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observations in Water Resources)
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30 pages, 88815 KiB  
Article
A Near Real-Time Hydrological Information System for the Upper Danube Basin
by Thomas Pulka, Ignacio Martin Santos, Karsten Schulz and Mathew Herrnegger
Hydrology 2021, 8(4), 144; https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology8040144 - 23 Sep 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2661
Abstract
The multi-national catchment of the Upper Danube covers an area of more than 100,000 km2 and is of great ecological and economic value. Its hydrological states (e.g., runoff conditions, snow cover states or groundwater levels) affect fresh-water supply, agriculture, hydropower, transport and [...] Read more.
The multi-national catchment of the Upper Danube covers an area of more than 100,000 km2 and is of great ecological and economic value. Its hydrological states (e.g., runoff conditions, snow cover states or groundwater levels) affect fresh-water supply, agriculture, hydropower, transport and many other sectors. The timely knowledge of the current status is therefore of importance to decision makers from administration or practice but also the interested public. Therefore, a web-based, near real-time hydrological information system was conceptualized and developed for the Upper Danube upstream of Vienna (Upper Danube HIS), utilizing ERA5 reanalysis data (ERA5) and hydrological simulations provided by the semi-distributed hydrological model COSERO. The ERA5 reanalysis data led to comparatively high simulation performance for a total of 65 subbasins with a median NSE and KGE of 0.69 and 0.81 in the parameter calibration and 0.63 and 0.75 in the validation period. The Upper Danube HIS was implemented within the R programming environment as a web application based on the Shiny framework. This enables an intuitive, interactive access to the system. It offers various capabilities for a hydrometeorological analysis of the 65 subbasins of the Upper Danube basin, inter alia, a method for the identification of hydrometeorological droughts. This proof of concept and system underlines how valuable information can be obtained from freely accessible data and by the means of open source software and is made available to the hydrological community, water managers and the public. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observations in Water Resources)
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Review

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26 pages, 3456 KiB  
Review
A Critical Review of Water Resources and Their Management in Bhutan
by Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq, Kelden Wangchuk and Nitin Muttil
Hydrology 2021, 8(1), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology8010031 - 13 Feb 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 17565
Abstract
Bhutan is a small yet water-abundant country. The country suffers from frequent flooding and is lately experiencing a growing risk of localized droughts due to inappropriate water resource management and climate change. Such a situation calls for much more efficient use and management [...] Read more.
Bhutan is a small yet water-abundant country. The country suffers from frequent flooding and is lately experiencing a growing risk of localized droughts due to inappropriate water resource management and climate change. Such a situation calls for much more efficient use and management of water in Bhutan. This paper undertakes an extensive analysis of the country’s water resources for better planning and management of the available water resources. Bhutan can be divided into three zones, the Southern Foothills, the Central Inner Himalayas, and the Higher Himalayas. The top four leading industries of Bhutan are related to water, either directly or indirectly. The country at present is at a very early stage of development. The government has prioritized water resources management over recent years. Water for hydropower in Bhutan has been in focus as compared to that allocated for irrigation, industries, and environmental demand. The demand for water in Bhutan has also increased in the last decade due to population increase, changes in lifestyle, and economic advancements through tourism and hydropower projects. Climate variation, deteriorating water quality, frequent floods, and increasing urbanization threaten the sustainability of water resources. Water accessibility issues for settlements due to the country’s harsh geographical landscape is leading towards localized water scarcity. Serious attention to rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge is required to address localized water scarcity issues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observations in Water Resources)
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